Royal Navy staff in Gosport celebrate the 'limitless potential' of female engineers

Engineers and technicians at HMS Sultan in Gosport united to show their support for International Women in Engineering Day’s ‘Shape the World’ campaign this week.

The annual celebration marks the achievements of women in engineering and aims to inspire future generations into the industry.

HMS Sultan is the Royal Navy’s hub for marine and air engineering, supporting both the Senior Service and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

The expansive naval base also runs an accelerated engineering apprenticeship for future fleet technicians.

Probationary Leading Air Engineering Technician Molly Ellis is among the more recent recruits to join the scheme.

She said career prospects in the navy were ‘endless’ and added: ‘Growing up I never saw being female as a boundary towards doing anything I dreamed of.

‘I’m proud to show my support for International Women in Engineering Day and to help ‘Shape the World’. Let’s let girls everywhere know that their potential is limitless.’

Sub Lieutenant Alex Ward is on the systems engineering and management course for air engineers.

As a member of Typhoon squadron at Loughborough University, Alex spent three years on the defence technical undergraduate scheme, which included time travelling to Germany, Poland and America, where she spent a month at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Since joining the Royal Navy 18 months ago, she has spent time on aircraft HMS Queen Elizabeth observing trials of the F-35B stealth jet, and has become a STEM ambassador.

She said: The engineering profession is a great choice – it can take you all over the globe, introduce you to so many people and allow you to shape the world.

‘There are so many different engineering disciplines too, whether you’re interested in aviation, marine, nuclear, chemical or automotive to name a few.’

Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Taranaivini Tuivaga has been in the Royal Navy for seven years.

In this time the Fijian has served on HMS Dauntless in the Gulf and was part of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s crew when the ship arrived for the first time in Portsmouth.

Now training to gain promotion to the rank of Leading Engineering Technician, she said: ‘So far I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Royal Navy. Coming from Fiji makes me extra proud to show my support for International Women in Engineering Day. Engineering should be seen as something for everyone.’