More than 600 young women from across South Wales and west of England came together at the fourth annual Keeping It Equal careers and training conference, staged once again at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.
Organised by social enterprise, Full Circle Education, the Keeping It Equal event seeks to engage female pupils and students aged 11-24 with careers and training programmes which are not traditionally seen as female or in which women are underrepresented.
Held annually since 2013 to mark International Women’s Day, the event has doubled in size year-on-year.
Nikki Giant, founder and director of Full Circle Education, said: “We want to show to teenagers they do not have to follow the ‘traditional female route’ and should aim high and go for the career they want.
“This event will show girls that they should aspire to be whatever they choose and that their opportunities are as broad as the future as boys. We want them to be inspired and potentially find the job of their dreams by keeping it equal."
Event sponsors included Western Power Distribution, Willmott Dixon, Opus International, and GMB Cardiff, which advocate equal opportunities across their workforces.
WPD’s corporate communication manager, Paul Bishop said: “We are pleased to support this initiative and to have the opportunity to discuss careers in engineering with a young female audience. We are always looking for talented, highly motivated people to join our apprenticeship schemes regardless of gender”.
Young delegates are encouraged to mix with many female role models and representatives exhibiting at the event from BBC Wales, ITV Cymru, South Wales Police, Network Rail, GE, Cardiff and Vale College, Western Power Distribution , See Science, RAF, Ministry of Life and many more.
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