WiME celebrates tenth anniversary on return to Hull

Hull’s Guildhall will host a free event aimed supporting women and girls in the region considering a career in the manufacturing, engineering, construction, digital and renewable sectors.

Women into Manufacturing and Engineering (WiME), which is part of Green Port Hull and celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026, is hosting a careers event to encourage more girls and young women to explore opportunities in the sector.

Specifically, the WiME event is aimed at:

• women who are currently employed in other sectors who wish to make a career change
• those returning to work after a career break
• girls attending school or college with their parents/carers
• female students in higher education
• careers advisors for school children and adults.

With around 20 of the Humber’s leading employers in attendance, the event will be an opportunity for women, girls and their parents/carers to meet others already working in the manufacturing and engineering sectors, find out about current vacancies, discover what training and qualifications are needed and learn about apprenticeship opportunities.

In the Humber region, manufacturing contributes almost 17 per cent of employment compared with 7.2 per cent for England.

However, despite the high demand for people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) qualifications, women are under-represented in these roles.

With great pay, a high number of vacancies and attractive prospects, careers in manufacturing and engineering present a wide variety of interesting and exciting roles, which play an important part in the local economy.

Cllr Linda Tock, portfolio holder for Hull Training at Hull City Council, said: “WiME events are key to ensure that women and girls can find a career path which suits them.

“We’ve seen some fantastic success stories on the back of previous WiME events, with women and girls going onto take up key roles in the targeted industries.

“We look forward to welcoming more women and girls to the WiME event at the Guildhall.”

This year’s event is also offering a free session on transferrable skills, with aspects such as communication, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving sought after qualities.

WiME chair, Dr Kirsty Clode, added: “Our events are designed to showcase the amazing career opportunities in our region and challenge outdated perceptions of careers in engineering, manufacturing, digital, construction and renewables.

“There is a wealth of roles available for all ages, from small local firms to large multinational companies, some of which may not have existed when some of the women left education.

“The women at our careers event will be able to provide an insight into being a woman in such roles, routes to take and skills you need to get there which will hopefully inspire visitors to make that switch.

“Many of today’s roles call for innovation, problem-solving, adaptability and team working – qualities women bring in abundance and which will be demonstrated during the transferrable skills session.

“It will help attendees identify these strengths and give them the confidence to talk about them effectively in job applications and interviews.”

WiME’s free careers event will take place from 3.30-6pm in Hull’s Guildhall on Tuesday 6 October.

You can find out more information and book your place here.