`Women should be looking to the electronics industry for good, wellpaid, highprospect careers," says Eileen Goold, a lecturer in the electronics department in Tallaght RTC. "Last year almost 7,000 new jobs were created in the sector bringing the total number currently employed in the electronics industry up to 32,000 people. "Though the sector is doing very well, women are not playing their full part in its success," she says. "For various reasons, women appear to be shying away from electronics and as a consequence are seriously under-represented in the industry." Armed with this information, Eileen Goold set about addressing the gender imbalance. She devised a training course aimed specifically at encouraging women into the electronics sector and she secured funding for it under the EU's NOW (New Opportunities for Women) initiative.
Goold has since put together five training programmes in conjunction with employers in the electronics industry. So far, more than 120 women have been given technical and personal development training to improve their chances both of getting a job in the industry and progressing their careers if they already work in the sector.
"Women in the sector are in big demand by employers and recruitment consultants because of their ability to work well as part of a team," Goold says. "There are tremendous job opportunities for women in electronics and it is imperative for teachers, parents and career guidance counsellors to advise young women at second level about the potential.
"Older women also need to be made aware of the range of careers which exist within the industry from general management and engineering to technical positions, machine operation, quality control and testing. "With the current boom, there are also many senior management jobs available with multinationals operating in Ireland and electronics can be an excellent foundation for those seeking to do MBAs or other business degrees as well as opening career opportunities in marketing, sales, education and public relations."
Finding women willing to participate in the training programmes was no problem. For the "open-to-all" courses, the RTC did a mail shot to homes located near the participating companies and received a very good response.
Prospective students were interviewed and successful candidates were offered places on the various courses, which were run at different locations. In addition, the RTC also worked with a number of electronics companies to offer in-house training for those women interested in advancing their careers. Teresa Curran from Artane, Dublin, took the full-time, 13-week women-in-electronics course run at Plunkett College in nearby Whitehall, which began in October last year. She is now working with 3Com as an electronics assembler. With three young children, she has opted for weekend and night shifts to fit in with her domestic arrangements.
"The leaflet came through the door about the course and it caught my attention," she says. "I knew nothing about electronics. My previous work experience had been in offices and, most recently, as a hotel receptionist. "I had always thought that I'd like to do something with my hands and I was attracted by the idea of electronics, so I applied and got on the course. I found it excellent. It was very interesting and enjoyable and I got a lot out of it."
Curran passed the course with distinction and is now planning to study for a technician's qualification. "There is a lot of scope within the electronics industry and I would like to take advantage of it," she says.
"I'm enjoying my work at 3Com a lot, particularly the teamwork aspect of the job. It's quite a different experience when you've been used to being on your own in an office."
Fidelma Larkin is a supervisor with NEC in Ballivor, Co Meath. She joined the company 11 years ago and was a group leader there before being promoted to supervisor in May last. She took part in the part-time, in-house course designed to help women already in the industry to progress further.
"I think the course was certainly a plus when it came to the promotion," she says. "I found it very interesting and enjoyable and we covered a lot of ground in electronics, maths, pneumatics, computers and supervisory management. I think the course also gave me the confidence to move on - I'm really enjoying the challenge of doing a supervisor's job."
Larkin has also decided to continue with training; last month she began a one-year course in supervisory management being run inhouse in conjunction with Griffith College.
Carol Kenny lives in Santry, Dublin. After 14 years of working on the accounting and finance side of companies, electronics was something completely new for her. However, she took to it like a duck to water and graduated from the course with distinction. "I knew nothing about electronics beyond the fact that it was the upand-coming business and worth having a look at," she says. "I was accepted on to the course and must say I really enjoyed it. I am now working full-time in Motorola and I plan on going on to do further study in the electronics area. "I would like to become a fully qualified technician and I am prepared to go to college at night to achieve this.
"I am separated with two young children, so the incentive is there for me to look ahead. For the future, I feel that there are a lot of opportunities for me to develop a career within the electronics industry - and I want to have the right qualifications under my belt to get there," she says.
Olive O'Shea is based in Maynooth and she is now working with HewlettPackard as an operator in final assembly. Prior to taking part in the course she had been working part-time in the restaurant at St Patrick's College in Maynooth.
"I have three children and I have been out of the workforce for the past 17 years while I was rearing them," she says. "What I really wanted was to get back to full-time employment, which is not so easy when you're over 40. But I have succeeded in this and I am enjoying the work a lot. "Electronics was something new for me and the course was a challenge. We were not guaranteed jobs at the end of it - we had to go through the normal channels of an interview, a medical and an aptitude test. I was offered a job and trained initially as an auditor. "I am just seven months as a module D operator in final assembly, so I am still getting used to the job. But I'm enjoying it."
Contact Point
Although the training programmes under the NOW initiative are finished, a full-time, one-year course in electronics skills is available at the VEC's Plunkett College in Whitehall, Dublin (tel: (01) 837 1689).
