How mechanical engineering apprentice Alisha Iqbal found her niche.
Her journey into the industry via an apprenticeship is a standard one. However, as a young Pakistani woman in a male-dominated field, she’s faced the odd challenge along the way.
Alisha’s journey into engineering began with a simple curiosity. “I was the kid who would deconstruct a pen just to see how it worked and put it back together,” she laughs. Her interest in how things work was evident from a young age, culminating in her setting up an old sound system at home, customising wires to connect it to her phone. Because of this innate curiosity, Alisha initially imagined a career as a mechanic. “I was always super shy,” she says, “I was never really a big people person.”
Fresh out of high school, she pursued her interests as a car mechanic but quickly realised it wasn’t the right fit. “I didn’t feel welcome in that environment,” she says, “Some customers were uncomfortable with a woman working on their car, which added to the feeling of not being welcome.” However, this experience, while disheartening, didn’t deter her. It became a pivotal moment, redirecting her towards a career in engineering.
The transition from mechanics to engineering was somewhat serendipitous.
A call from an educational body led her to explore a funded Level 1 course in engineering. This opportunity, which allowed her to earn while learning, opened the door to a field she hadn’t initially considered. “When I walked into CR Solutions, everything was so interesting,” she says, “I knew right away it was the place for me.”
At CR Solutions, Alisha found an environment that valued learning and growth. She embraced the challenges, from designing parts to troubleshooting issues in the CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) process. “Mistakes are part of the process,” she explains. “If I get something wrong, I’m not reprimanded. It’s understood that I’m younger and an apprentice.”. Alisha’s work has been invaluable on AMPI funded projects, thanks to learning and building her expertise from making mistakes in a safe space.
One of the most significant challenges Alisha has faced is confidence. Entering a predominantly male environment as a young woman is undoubtedly intimidating, despite the best efforts of the industry. “Walking into a building full of guys who looked like they knew exactly what they were doing, and here I was, a 16- or 17-year-old girl surrounded by robots and machines,” she says.
The only way she found to overcome this was through making mistakes: “I didn’t start feeling confident until I made my first big mistake,” she says. The supportive environment at CR Solutions played a crucial role in this mental transformation, helping her understand that errors are a stepping-stone to becoming a better engineer: “As soon as I saw everything, I didn’t understand a single bit of it and that intrigued me. I was like, ‘I need to know how all of this works’.”
Alisha’s decision to pursue an apprenticeship rather than a traditional college route was ultimately influenced by practicality and a simple desire to continue learning but she had to come to it herself. “There was a misconception in high school that apprenticeships were for kids who failed everything and couldn’t get into college,” she says. Luckily, she was able to see the value of apprenticeships in providing hands-on experience and practical skills that traditional academic paths often lack. “It’s taste-testing your career path,” she says, “it opened up all aspects of engineering, from welding to electrical, for me and I got to see which one I’m best at, where my strong suits lie.”
Choosing CR Solutions for her apprenticeship proved to be a good match. The company’s cutting-edge technology and supportive learning environment were exactly what she needed to thrive. “Every day involves something different and that’s exactly what I was looking for,” she says.
With her apprenticeship as a solid foundation, Alisha is now setting her sights on a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Huddersfield University. Her goal is to move into the design side of engineering, where, she says, “I need to strengthen my theoretical knowledge to become a design engineer,” she explains, highlighting the importance of understanding both the practical and theoretical aspects of the field.
Though Alisha has had challenges along the way, her advice to others is clear. She believes that greater awareness and support for apprenticeships could help more young people discover their potential in fields like engineering. “If high schools provided more information about the benefits of apprenticeships, it could help students make more informed choices,” she suggests. And the intimidation factor still looms large for many but, she says, it’s something to get over: “Regardless of age, no one is really looking at you thinking you don’t belong. People don’t care as much as you think they do. If engineering interests you, just go for it.”
Alisha is passionate about encouraging other women into the field. “I do get asked quite a bit about it, things like ‘How come you’re a brown girl doing engineering?’ because it is still a bit uncommon, especially being Pakistani,” she says, “I think I might have seen one other Pakistani girl doing engineering in my three or four years of doing this and I don’t think she lasted very long but I want to show that if you’re interested in engineering, it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from. You have a place here.”
