We have celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) with a powerful and inspiring event at Cannington College. This built on the success of the inaugural UCS IWD event in 2025 led by Sky-Elouise Hopkins, UCS Students' Union Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Manager and second-year Nuclear Engineering Degree Apprentice.
Passionate about encouraging more women into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) careers, Sky-Elouise spoke at this year’s event about her progression into the second year of her apprenticeship, and some of the barriers that she is overcoming as she moves closer to completion and the next step in her career.
In a sector where only 5.8% of Sky-Elouise’s own apprentice cohort is female, she is passionate about challenging gendered career stereotypes and opening more opportunities for women in nuclear. With 40,000 new nuclear jobs in the UK planned by the end of the decade, Sky-Elouise sees this as an unmissable opportunity to drive female representation forward.
Inspiring Words from Local Leaders
Gemma Coombs, Early Careers Lead at Nuclear Restoration Services, described her upward, and sometimes sideways, journey to her current role at NRS. She spoke about a personal event that changed her life forever, and how she rediscovered a sense of belonging in her career afterwards. She is a huge advocate of micro-bravery; small and repeatable actions that compound quickly and build lasting confidence.
Jenny Ashworth, Skills & Education Consultant and former Assistant Principal at the College Group, encouraged everyone listening to, “Say yes. You never know where it may lead.” She began her career as an actress over 25 years ago and described many yeses she has said on the way to building her current ‘portfolio career’; one where she puts family first and knows and brings her value.
Driving Change in STEM
Ryan Barnett, Deputy Head at the National College for Nuclear, highlighted the stories of some of the most extraordinary engineers and scientists from the past 200 years; who happen to be women. He explained that representation shapes aspiration, changing what feels possible, and talked about the UCS College Group commitment to help build a sector where talent is what defines a person, not gender.
Let’s continue the conversation - what more can we do to support women in STEM? #IWD #STEM #WomenInEngineering #UCS #NCfN