To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we caught up with Kayleigh Emery – Service Coordinator at BGES Group – to talk about her role and to get advice for women considering a career in the building controls industry.
My role involves line managing our 7 service engineers up and down the country, issuing jobs to them on a daily basis, and then undertaking quality assurance once the work has been complete. It’s a technical role and requires a strong knowledge of building management system (BMS) technology, but I had no prior experience before I joined BGES Group.
My career so far
My route has been an unusual one – my first role within the company was as an operator within the energy and controls centre (eCC). My customer service experience won me the position and I gained technical training on the job.
I was then promoted to eCC supervisor, before being promoted again to the job I do now.
Thriving in the engineering industry
It’s definitely still a male-dominated industry, and there aren’t many women in the sector doing my role. BGES Group are trying to change that and have invested a lot into developing my career within the company. They are currently supporting me through an ILM (Institute of Leadership & Management) Level 3 qualification.
I think it helps that we have a very open culture here where potential is recognised regardless of gender, voices are heard and people are given opportunities to thrive. I have been with BGES Group for 9 years now and in all honesty, they feel like an extension of family. I’m really happy here and my ambition is to progress and become Director of Service one day. My advice to women looking to get into a predominantly male industry like building controls would be to stick to your guns and be assertive! Look for an employer that is obviously committed to supporting women in the industry and a management team that recognises potential.
The work we do at BGES is really rewarding – we’re driving energy efficiency improvements in buildings and this is crucial if the UK is to meet its net zero target. I hope that by sharing my story I can encourage more women and girls to consider a career that makes a difference.