A young Aberdeen engineer has been recognized for her work inspiring school pupils to take on a career in the oil & gas industry.
Katy Crawford, who is employed by offshore lifting and mechanical handling services company Sparrows, has been chosen to receive the Raising the Profile of the Profession – Promoting Engineering to Primary Students award from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
After just one year in full-time employment, the 22-year-old has become heavily involved in making children aware of the benefits of picking a career in engineering. Katy is the IMechE Young Member Panel’s Education Representative and has been instrumental in introducing the Primary Engineer initiative into primary schools in the North-east of Scotland.
Primary Engineer looks to get youngsters from the age of five involved in a number of fun and interactive activities which use engineering principles. In introducing this to the region Katy went beyond her required roles and encouraged schools to sign up, as well as engineers. She is now the main point of contact for the project in Aberdeen.
In addition to her work with younger children, Katy also arranged for a group of female high school students to tour her workplace at Sparrows and meet senior female engineers and managers as part of the Girls into Energy program.
Katy joined Sparrows in 2011 after graduating with a Mechanical and Offshore Engineering degree from The Robert Gordon University.
She said: “It has been great to get kids interested in engineering and let them see what they could do with their careers. The oil and gas industry has a massive skills gap coming up and I would like to help young people look at a future which could address that and give them some excellent opportunities.
“I was shocked to hear I had been chosen for the award. I really enjoy my job and the work I do for IMechE and had not been expecting to receive anything for it. This has been a nice surprise.”
Claire Jones, Chair of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Young Member board who helped judge the award, said: “Katy has been such an important link in getting the Primary Engineer scheme up and running in Aberdeen. The judging panel clearly saw that she went above and beyond her role as education representative.
“Katy is inspiring the next generation of engineers and in particular female students who often do not consider engineering as an interesting and viable career choice.”
Established in 1973, Sparrows is one of the most well-known and trusted names in the oil and gas industry, employing 1,744 in 19 locations.
Providing oilfield engineering services, Sparrows specialises in offshore lifting, crane engineering and services, mechanical handling, pipe and cable lay systems, fluid power engineering, equipment rentals and competence training.
Doug Sedge, chief executive of Sparrows, said: “It is important to attract the engineers of tomorrow to the industry and Katy is playing an important role in this. Her hard work and proactive approach in making youngsters aware of the opportunities available to them is valuable to both the children and Sparrows.
“As a company, Sparrows has long been committed to developing potential and allowing people to make the most of themselves in their work. Katy’s work is in keeping with this and will hopefully help to inspire the engineers of tomorrow.
“Katy herself is an excellent example to young people of someone who is making good progress as an engineer and has a bright future in the oil and gas industry. I would like to congratulate her on receiving the IMechE award which she thoroughly deserves.”