Conference offers sweet introduction to HMGCC tech careers

What do sweets, special guests, science and tech have in common? They all played a part in a huge conference designed to inspire future engineers.

A total of 200 schoolgirls from five local schools attended the Girls In Science (GIS) Conference, held in collaboration with HMGCC, on Wednesday.

Hosted by GIS founder Lakechia Jeanne, the event was planned to coincide with Milton Keynes Tech Week – a celebration of tech achievement across the city.

Special guest speakers included three HMGCC apprentices, who faced a grilling from the audience (motivated by free sweets for the good questions asked).

One of HMGCC’s senior engineers also took part in a fireside chat with Lakechia, talking about her background in foster care, experience with ADHD and the pathway she navigated to climb in her career.

The conference was the culmination of the GIS and HMGCC Growth Lab which was held in Milton Keynes schools earlier this year.

The Growth Lab was aimed at girls interested in STEM careers, due to the recognised underrepresentation of women in the engineering profession.

The Lab was made up of a series of workshops held at schools during the summer, which saw HMGCC apprentices visiting students to deliver in-person talks about the pathway into apprenticeships.

The window for applications into the HMGCC apprenticeships opens each autumn. For more information, visit our apprenticeship pages.