Hi, I’m Amelia Akester and I’m an automation and Electrical Technician. I work for Knauf in the plant development team and I have been here almost 4 years.
Outside of my role, I love to travel and see new places in the UK and abroad. I love to see the different scenery and the way people live differently to us as well as the animals we don’t have living in the wild in England compared to over countries.
The people who inspired me to pursue engineering as a career path is my Dad, Brother and Grandad. They all have worked in industry and have always talked highly of the experiences and knowledge you gain from working in these kinds of places, making industry an intriguing place to work for me.
At the start of my career, I completed 2 years on an ECITB scholarship at North Lindsey College in instrumentation and control. I then went on to do my apprenticeship in automation and electrical engineering at Knauf.
I’ve found automation and electrical engineering an interesting role to be in due to it being a challenging job, it makes me use my knowledge and skills to understand what is happening and what needs to be done.
A proud moment during my career was when I did my ‘End point assessment’ I received a distinction, which I didn’t think I’d ever be able to achieve, this made me very proud as I achieved a very high score when I didn’t think I could.
Throughout my 4th year my knowledge of the process at Knauf as well as my electrical knowledge has exceled a lot and I’ve been able to lead parts of the projects we’ve had, I’ve always been quite a shy person so being able to successfully lead a project and team of technicians has been one of the biggest achievements of this year.
When I started at Knauf I was the only female working within the maintenance department which I thought would be scary, but all the guys welcomed me with open arms, and I’ve never been treated any different by any of them for being a female, which I like.
I’ve also helped with ensuring that the women are equal with everyone else on site by helping with the upgrade of our locker room and toilets and asking about having female PPE so that women can come to work and wear clothing that fits their body.
Advice I would give to other women or young people considering this career is: Don’t think you can’t do the job because you’re a female or young, everyone is supportive and wants you to succeed.
What changes would you like to see in the industry to make it more inclusive? I think facilities and PPE is the only part where there is a difference for women but when working with everyone else there isn’t a difference, everyone is supportive and wants to see me succeed, which makes me feel included.
My advice for others would be: don’t worry about making it “perfect”—your voice and perspective are what matter most.
