The word ‘engineer’ conjures up an image for most…….

The statistics show this type of role is primarily occupied by males, with many women we approached who are interested in this type of role, voicing concerns that they could be out of place in a man’s world and in some cases, presenting concerns over their personal security when working solo in domestic premises.

Here at The Concept Academy in partnership with Whirlpool, we want to encourage women into this type of role and are working hard to support their ambitions all within a safe environment.

Our teams interviewed existing time-served female Whirlpool engineers to discuss the benefits of working in the field team, and to rebut the pre-conceptions people have about females working this sort of position.

Meet Heidi…

Heidi is a Field Service Engineer for Whirlpool and has worked at the company for seven years and within the South-East of England region. Having previous experience with, along with a passion for motor vehicles, she was encouraged by an engineer to join the Whirlpool Field Operations team.

The idea of being able to travel for her job, experience new challenges every day and having the ability to fix things at her own pace with real autonomy was a real draw. What drove Heidi into this role was the flexibility and progression on offer, the training, and the ability to work from home whenever possible.

Progression is real incentive in the field team with the chance to develop engineering skills and progress within clearly defined promotion paths. One of the challenges that Heidi has faced is perception, when arriving at customers’ homes, she is sometimes met with a stunned reaction. However, after showing them how she works, her competence and communicating politely with them, all their preconceptions disappear.

Job satisfaction for Heidi is knowing when you go home at the end of the day you have done a great job for the customer. Moreover, working within a tight-knit team, Heidi highlights the fact she feels supported in every aspect of the role, not just out in the field “on her own”. The team bounce ideas off each other and lend a hand whenever needed.

Heidi also discusses how working at Whirlpool means you are in control of your working day, have plenty of time in between jobs and plenty of self-management. The role offers flexible working hours, whereby you can start early and finish early, or if you have prior commitments or errands to run in between jobs, you are given the freedom to do so. The company is always happy to help with this, and this is very beneficial for employees who have children for example, and you can work around them.

Whirlpool and the Concept Academy support all our engineers through regularly checked tools and equipment, high-quality PPE, manual handling that teaches you how to handle tools safely and correctly with local mentor engineers that are readily available to help.

Safety, especially for female engineers, is very important and can be a deal-breaker when considering a career in Field Service. Being on your own can be a worry, but at Whirlpool, you are provided with a Lonealert device that attaches to your trousers, so if anything were to happen, you can press an alarm button straight away and receive rapid assistance. Vans can also be equipped with a panic alarm and a tracker so the teams can see where you are at all times and can reach you if ever needed.

Working as an Engineer, Heidi reinforces that women are a minority, but that shouldn’t be the norm. As a female engineer, you change the dynamic whereby you bring a different perspective to the table. Both Whirlpool and the Concept Academy are committed to operating a diverse and inclusive workforce and will support individual needs or requirements wherever possible.

Heidi highly recommends working for Whirlpool as every day is different, there is genuine job satisfaction, great opportunity for career progression and lots of benefits of working within this inclusive, worldwide company. There are equal opportunities for everyone, and their contributions are always valued.

If you are interested or want to know more about the job roles we have on offer working for Whirlpool, then follow our website or get in touch with Dan Sholl for more information.