Finmeccanica UK

As a world-leading technology company, Finmeccanica is fully committed to innovation, excellence and equal opportunities for all. We are therefore extremely proud to support the Government’s new Your Life initiative launched today, as part of a national effort to encourage greater participation amongst young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), especially women.

 

Finmeccanica employees 8,500 people in the UK from a variety of backgrounds and experience, who have access to learning and development at every level. This is part of a strategic objective for the whole company to remain agile, and develop, acquire and sustain competitive advantage through our people’s ability and passion.

 

“We are proud to support the Your Life initiative, demonstrated by our ongoing commitment to achieving a diverse workforce. Finmeccanica is working with government, industry and academia to further boost female participation in technology and engineering – in schools, through university, and into working life”, said Martin Flavell, VP Human Resources Finmeccanica UK.

 

Finmeccanica’s companies in the UK actively support education and skills development through partnerships with schools, colleges and universities throughout the country, including on PhDs and research projects, and invest heavily in school engagement and supporting STEM curriculums. Each year, our educational outreach programme engages thousands of school children and college students, to ensure the knowledge, and skills, which are vital to the UK, are nurtured and developed.

 

This commitment to Your Life further extends Finmeccanica’s strong commitment to the STEM ambitions of organisations such as Interconnect Network, the Women's Engineering Society, and the IET Women's Network.

 

Finmeccanica's Your Life Pledge

1. Finmeccanica in the UK commits to increasing the emphasis on female participation when promoting apprenticeship, graduate and other work experience schemes
2. Finmeccanica in the UK commits to contributing to a national campaign by using key campaign messages in its communications activity
3. Finmeccanica in the UK commits to measuring its progress on attracting female engineers
4. Finmeccanica in the UK commits to deepening its relationships with educational and professional institutions to encourage more females to pursue a career in STEM

 

Diversity and Gender at Finmeccanica in the UK

Finmeccanica is a leading supplier of helicopters, defence electronics, security and satellite services in the UK employing 8,500 highly-skilled personnel across the country. As a major employer, we seek to act in a way that benefits all of our stakeholders and to always improve our approach with regards to corporate social responsibility by applying sound management practices and continuously educating and involving our employees. It is widely recognised that the manufacturing and engineering industry has historically low female representation, leading to a significant loss to the sector of highly talented women. Therefore, one of our key objectives is to continue to develop a diverse workforce, in particular by seeking to attract more females to pursue a career within STEM. Finmeccanica and its principal operating companies in the UK, Selex ES, AgustaWestland and Telespazio have been involved in several initiatives such as 'Think, Act, Report' which aims to achieve gender equality in the workplace and are also working on the development of proactive activities that will boost female participation in STEM careers. Undoubtedly, one of our greatest challenges is to tackle outdated stereotypes and to do so we are visiting schools and universities across the UK to encourage young females to study maths and physics and to prove that a career in STEM can be exciting and fulfilling. Supporting the 'Women into Technology and Engineering Compact' is not only an effective way of initiating a step-change in how women and girls currently consider such a career path but it will also help our company to address skills shortages and identify untapped talent.

 

Finmeccanica companies in the UK commit to increasing the emphasis on female participation when promoting apprenticeship, graduate and other work experience schemes such as the commitment by Selex ES, one of the Finmeccanica companies in the UK, to work with the Daphne Jackson Trust to pilot their 'Industrial Sponsorship' scheme in 2014 and 2015, providing work placements for women who are returning after career breaks. We also commit to contributing to a national campaign by using key messages in our communications activity to demonstrate our support. We believe it is important to monitor our profile by collecting all relevant data that measures our progress in attracting and retaining female engineers. More broadly, we support the '5% Club', an initiative designed to increase the overall number of apprentices and graduates in the UK. Our future actions should certainly be focused on enhancement and enrichment activities in schools and universities in order to engage more female students with STEM and to let them see how this is relevant to their identity and future. This is why we are committed to deepening our relationships with educational and other professional institutions. Another Finmeccanica company in the UK, AgustaWestland, commits to further its support for both the 'Imagineering' and 'Flying Start Challenge' initiatives, promoting STEM in Primary and Secondary Schools, expanding our coverage to promote the initiative specifically to encourage participation of girls and also widening the provision into local girls' schools. Selex ES is committed to sponsoring students on the Smallpeice Trust's 'Girls into Engineering' courses to help inspire a new generation of students to work in STEM careers. Selex ES is also committed to supporting the 'CareerWISE' scheme in Scotland by providing paid work placements to female students.

 

"We still have a long way to go to achieve our goals but we are confident that Finmeccanica companies can contribute positively to this change." Martin Flavell, Vice President Human Resources, Finmeccanica UK.