Jobs for the girls (From Western Telegraph)

Jobs for the girls

Women are shunning exciting job opportunities at a Pembrokeshire manufacturing company.

Less than a third of the workforce at aerospace manufacturer DPS Composites, Pembroke Dock, is female, because women believe the jobs are aimed at men. This perception is false, said the company, and is urging women to start applying now.

It comes in a week when DPS Composites signed a three-year contract with an international airline to manufacture commercial aircraft seats. It will mean around 25 new jobs for a company which also manufactures components for Formula One cars.

This is an opportunity for both men and women to apply for vacancies, said personnel officer, Kim Lewis.

Less than 20 women currently make up the 75-strong workforce at the Ferry Lane factory.

We get very few applications from women. They seem to associate the word aerospace with engineering and mens work, admitted Kim. If they wanted to come to the factory to see exactly what we get up to here, we would be more than happy to show them around.

DPS Composites cannot specifically recruit women because it would break equal opportunity rules. But it wants women to know it would welcome their applications.

It is interesting work and it is a very happy, pleasant working environment, said Kim Lewis. Our shift patterns are very well suited to women who have children at school. There is also lots of scope for progressing up the pay grades.

A part-time shift could also be established if there was enough interest, she added.

DPS Composites specialises in manufacturing carbon fibre aircraft interiors. Its parent company is based in Surrey and it set up business in Pembroke Dock in 1999.

Despite being forced to shed 80 staff after the September 11th downturn in the airline industry, confidence is now returning.

There is a lot of work out there and the business is showing signs of turning around, said managing director Mark Hilsdon.