Luton apprentice in finals of top competition

This year’s theme “Inspiring Tomorrow’s World” highlights the importance of encouraging women to study STEM subjects from a young age and motivating them to pursue fulfilling, long-term careers in tech.

The 39 finalists were handpicked from a record breaking number of entries by a panel of the UK’s most senior technology leaders and include highly skilled software engineers, innovative tech entrepreneurs and female students dedicated to increasing STEM engagement at their schools.

Sophie Caffrey, an apprentice at Leonardo, is a finalist in the Apprentice Award.

Leonardo was the only Apprentice Open Day she attended and completely changed her attitude towards engineering.

During one of her hardware placements, she was given the task of designing a PCB from scratch for a new innovative product. This was the first complete design she had undertaken. With a vague brief and a short time scale, she had a lot more responsibility on her shoulders.

Once her team was happy with the designs she suggested, she obtained quotes and project funding. The job was completed on schedule and the boards were delivered, installed and worked first time around. This new design has now been successfully used on every global trial of this product in 2017.

Outside of her role as an apprentice, Sophie’s mission is to enable others to see how wonderful engineering is and redefine the stereotype of a ‘typical engineer’.

The 2018 winners will be announced on February 8 at The London Hilton on Park Lane.