Two women from Nestlé Halifax have created a competition for young people to create a sustainably made lorry.
Inspired by International Women in Engineering Day (IWED), on Tuesday 23rd June, two of the maintenance team at the home of Quality Streets, devised a competition for youngsters aged between 6-14 on this year's theme, 'Shape the World'.
The competition, was created and run by Deanna Sharma, Maintenance Planner and Hannah Worthing, Maintenance Manager, for children of other employees at the factory.
Deanna said: "The idea actually came from a lot of people in the factory struggling to keep their kids entertained at home during COVID-19 lockdown, we thought if we can tackle that whilst making it fun, and conveying a powerful message, we were on to a winner!"
The competition was to create a model lorry or trailer using only recyclable materials from around the house.
Hannah added: "Sustainability is at the heart of what we do here in the factories, we are constantly trying to reduce the impact of our packaging on our environment and we wanted to encourage the younger generation to start thinking along the same lines."
Some ideas given for inspiration were milk cartons for the body of the truck and bottle caps for wheels but ultimately creativity was encouraged above all else.
The competition closed on the 22nd June, with winners being announced on the 24th and two prize categories, one for 6-10 year olds, one for 11-14 year olds.
Hannah has been in Nestlé for six years starting out a Project Engineer, then a Maintenance Planner and now Maintenance Manager. Originally from Newcastle but moved to Leeds to study Chemical Engineering at Leeds University and has been in Leeds ever since. Outside of work she loves to hike and during lockdown has been focusing on keeping fit.
Deanna has been with Nestlé for four years starting out in a placement as an Industrial Services Engineer, then the Manufacturing Graduate scheme with Nestlé Academy where she worked across a range of sites and roles including Maintenance Engineer and now is a Maintenance Planner. Outside of work she loves climbing but her more recent lockdown project has been converting a panel van to a camper van.
"We think it is really important to promote careers in STEM, even at a young age. One of our main challenges in Operations is gender balance, we want to encourage everyone to consider a career with us in the future and to try and change the perception of Engineering." Said Hannah.