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“Winning this award means a lot to me. There is always room for me to improve my confidence and professional development and Skills 4 UK are experts in diversity and inclusion. I am very excited to learn from them.”
Rachel Howard
2019’s winner of the Skills 4 UK Scholar’s Award is Rachel Howard (UKESF Scholar 2017–20), who is studying for a MEng in Computer Science and Electronics at the University of Bristol and is sponsored by Altran (now Capgemini).
Rachel will receive a place on Skills 4 UK’s award-winning Career Development Programme, as well as additional coaching. The programme is designed to help women further their careers and has already encouraged over 4,000 women to advance professionally during the eight years since its inception. It reports that 97% of participants have a more proactive approach to career progression upon completion of the sessions, and 88% have higher levels of self-confidence.
Rachel said, “In year 9 I started to have this strong predilection for a career requiring practical skills. I thought about learning a trade. In the end I decided to take A-levels first then make a decision afterwards. At a college open day I saw some coursework produced by the students and I decided to take the Electronics A-level.
“I was one of two women who took the full A-level in a full class. I have never felt excluded or minoritised as a woman in STEM. Since going to university, to study Computer Science and Electronics, and becoming a UKESF Scholar, I have been given a lot of support and, along with my male peers, have been taught the important skills I need to succeed.
“Winning this award means a lot to me. There is always room for me to improve my confidence and professional development and Skills 4 UK are experts in diversity and inclusion. I am very excited to learn from them.”
The Skills 4 UK Scholar’s Award takes into account academic performance, placement feedback and STEM-awareness contribution. Congratulations Rachel!
