Recognising their ground-breaking work in engineering, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has presented its prestigious Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards to three young women.

All will play an ambassadorial role for the engineering and technology professions in the forthcoming months, promoting engineering careers to girls and young people.

The IET Mary George Prize for Apprentices went to controls engineer Emma Goulding from Siemens, aged 23; the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year was awarded to audio engineer Orla Murphy from Jaguar Land Rover, aged 25; and the

Women’s Engineering Society (WES) Award was given to process improvement manager Helen Cavill from M&H Plastics, aged 31.

The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards celebrate today’s most successful female engineers, encouraging them to become role models to inspire more girls to become engineers and help address the gender imbalance in engineering and science.

Recognising and celebrating outstanding female engineers has never been so important. Recent statistics from the IET’s Skills and Demand in Industry survey showed that women represent only 9% of the engineering workforce.

IET President, Naomi Climer, said: “I’d like to congratulate the three winners who have been recognised and rewarded for their talent. They are a real credit to the engineering profession.”

She added: “But let’s not forget that these women will also help to champion engineering careers to the next generation, particularly girls, who may need a bit of encouragement to consider a career in engineering and technology. This is crucial because women are currently losing out on an interesting and rewarding career – engineering is a hugely exciting and diverse career with the opportunity to do something life- or world-changing.

“And our failure to attract enough women into engineering is also contributing to the national skills shortage.”