A BT engineer in the Highlands and Islands who is one of a small group of female engineers has encouraged other women to consider entering professions traditionally dominated by men.
Sarah Calam, from Fort William, has gone from working split shifts as a hotel waitress to landing a job as an engineer with the national firm.
The 24-year-old said being a woman in a sector typically populated by men was “easier” that she thought it would be, and allowed her to be at home more for her young son.
With more than 18 vacancies in the Highlands and Islands, BT’s Openreach division is encouraging more women to consider a career in engineering.
Ms Calam described the changes in her life that led to the career swap.
She said: “I worked in a hotel and I was always doing split shifts. Starting early in the morning to do breakfast, and then again in the evening for evening meals.
“I would often work until 10 or 11pm at night.
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“I didn’t think I would ever do anything other than working in a hotel, and when I had my son I thought that it would be even harder to do any other job.
“I applied for this job last September, thinking I wouldn’t get a place, then I thought I would find the training difficult.
“But now I have a professional qualification, an SVQ in IT and Telecom, and I have a job that I can manage my family commitments around.
“It is great to be in something that is a career. I have been all over the country with my training meeting lots of new people.
“My colleagues don’t treat me any differently, I am just one of the team and why wouldn’t I be?”
Fraser Rowberry, service delivery director for Openreach in Scotland, said: “It’s great to be bringing talented individuals like Sarah on board to change and challenge perceptions.
“They represent the new face of modern engineering in Scotland.
“Research shows that even though girls study these subjects in school, only a minority pursue careers in engineering. This issue needs to be addressed.
“Part of it is showing girls from a young age that engineering is a viable career, before they have decided on a different path.
“Typically we find when females do apply for our posts, they smash it.”
In an earlier version of this article, we incorrectly referred to Sarah as the only female BT engineer in the Highlands and Islands. We have changed this to include the phrase “one of a small group of female engineers”.