As part of our Year 9 TREK elective “Be Your Own Boss”, we were lucky enough to have Kirsty Bateman as a guest speaker via Zoom.

As the Director of Engineering Capability at BAE systems, with a long-standing career in STEM, Kirsty willingly shared her vast experiences with our class. From her life and education in Scotland; to working on the design of Hawkeye helicopters, Bushmaster trucks and naval ships.

She discussed the opportunities to progress equality for women in a traditionally male dominated industry, the skills needed to manage a large workforce, the importance of having good customer relations skills, and the value of taking risks and embracing feedback.

Overall, I thought it was very worthwhile to learn from someone’s firsthand experiences. It was very informative and she spoke about some significant issues we might face when going into careers. Thank you Kirsty!

Jaime, Year 9