On the 11 February 2024 we celebrate The International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2024. To mark this occasion we met with Milly Furniss, an Electrical Testing Engineer at SEE Services to discuss how she came to pursue a career as an electrician.
Great to meet you, can you start with an overview of your career and training to date?
Nice to meet you! I’m Milly and I’m a qualified electrician. I joined SEE Services in August 2023 but prior to that I had two main roles, one was with a housing company, and another was based in the rail sector. I have completed my 18thedition electrical qualification, as well as HSE training and environment specific training too, I just have one final assessment remaining and then I’ll be fully qualified.
Tell us about your role at SEE
I love my role at SEE. Unlike my prior jobs where I would be based on a site for long periods, my role at SEE is to deliver planned maintenance and remedial work for our customers in retail and hospitality sectors. It’s really flexible and because I travel to customer sites, I get to liaise with lots of people too. No two days are the same, this morning I was installing new lighting in a restaurant and later today I’ll be going to a vet’s surgery.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
My confidence has grown so much since I joined SEE, I think that’s down to the variety and how much it draws on my knowledge. It’s really important to know the latest regulations, and I get to use my knowledge and experience to solve problems and fix things and I really enjoy that part of the role.
Why did you pick an engineering-based career?
A technical career was never something I considered, and it was certainly never suggested to me as a career option either. It really came about after Covid, when I was seeking a new direction which would be more fulfilling. A friend who is an electrician himself, suggested I would be well-suited to an electrical career. I looked into it some more and found an apprenticeship, once I started I knew I had found the right role for me!
What would you say to women and girls considering a science-based career?
Even today the sector is male dominated, which does make it daunting. But I would say to go for it because there is nothing you can’t do!
SEE Services are currently recruiting a number of exciting new roles, visit see-services.com/careers to find out more.