In comparison to the number of male students, we only get a handful of women attending NDT courses throughout the year. After seeing Gemma on a Weld Inspector course, we snapped up the opportunity to have a quick chat about her role and how she has developed a career within the NDT Industry.
“I started my role at Shepley’s as a Junior Quality Engineer nearly three years ago, after making somewhat of a career change. I had spent the previous ten years within the Spa management and Development industry and decided to re-direct my career path into engineering. After spending time within the industry, it opened my eyes to the diversity and wide range of opportunities within the sector for a future career path; as well as the longevity of the financial security for my family.
Since joining Shepley, I have been on a wide array of training courses to enable me to fulfil my role and learn about all aspects surrounding the industry that I now work in. My role is predominantly based within the quality team, so the majority of my training and day to day job requirements are based around Engineering within the mechanical sector of the nuclear industry.
Last year I qualified as an internal and lead auditor with BSI. I recently completed CQI Quality management Level 3 and gained PCQI Practitioner status within the CQI. I am currently working towards the Level 5 Diploma in Quality Management and hope to progress in this area to a degree level after this year.
The sectors within the engineering industry that I frequently work in are process and service pipework, vessels, pressure parts, general fabrications and CE Marking. I assist in the surveillance of all NDT methods; comprising of Visual inspection, Magnetic Particle Inspection, Dye Penetrant Inspection, Radiography and Ultrasonic Testing, both on-site within the Shepley Company and off site at sub-contractor fabrication facilities.
From a quality side, my role covers all aspects of QC & QA from the beginning to the end of a project; which includes writing Inspection and Test plans, verifying procedures and documents, as well as compiling and maintaining life time records.
Verification of internal and external processes within our Quality management systems and site specifications, alongside the conducting and reporting of project audits.
I recently attended Lavender International NDT to complete a course to further my development within the team and expand my knowledge and understanding of Weld Inspection and Visual/NDT methods. I was apprehensive prior to attending the course, with women being the minority within the sector; however, I thoroughly enjoyed my week at Lavenders. The course was informative, well-presented and extremely interesting. It broadened my understanding of methods, processes and materials and the knowledge and experience I gained was invaluable. I look forward to doing further courses with Lavender in the future.”
We would like to say a big thank you to Gemma for taking the time to chat with us! If you have any questions about any of the information, or if you would like to contact Gemma, please let us know and we can pass on your message:
E: amy@lavender-ndt.com
T: 01226 765769