The 8th March is a significant date in the global calendar as it is the celebration of International Women’s Day. The theme of 2019 is #BalanceforBetter – a balanced world is a better world, and you can learn more about this by visiting www.internationalwomensday.com.

The engineering industry is one that is under-represented by women, but here at CDE we are fortunate to have a great team of men and women that continue to drive our business forward, working to deliver on the company’s purpose to champion sustainability in a New World of Resource.

To celebrate this significant day we caught up with Lorna Quinn, Technical Writer at CDE to learn more about her role at CDE.

What is Your Role at CDE?

My name is Lorna Quinn, and I am a Technical Writer with CDE. It is the responsibility of a Technical Writer to translate complex technical information into a language our customers, and non-technical audiences can understand. Part of my role as a Technical Writer is to document how our customers operate our innovative and world-class equipment. The position also involves proofreading, editing and rewriting documents in addition to compiling operation and maintenance manuals (O&M Manuals) for our customers across the world.

When Did you Join CDE?

I graduated in 2014 with a first-class honours degree in Politics and the following year I joined CDE as a Temporary Administrator. After eighteen months I was promoted to the role of Parts Documentation Engineer in CustomCare, the dedicated after-sales support department in CDE. With responsibility for the O&M Manuals and Recommended Spares Lists (RSLs) I gained invaluable experience and, in this role, identified a business need for a Technical Writer within CDE.

I approached CDE about further developing my skills in this area and gained their support for enrolment in a Postgraduate Certificate in Technical Communication. With the skills I have acquired I can write clear and concise content and produce professional documentation that helps our customers and reflects well on our CDE brand.

What is Your Typical Day?

While distance learning and working full time has been challenging, my commitment has paid off. I get to do what I love every day having been promoted to the role of Technical Writer in January. I am now a member of the technical team working daily with engineers at all levels in the business. A typical day can vary from updating the content and renders in our O&M Manuals to proofreading colleagues reports or rewriting documents.    I am thoroughly enjoying my new position as every day I apply the skills gained from 4 years at CDE, and those gained from my Postgraduate course.

As the saying goes “every day is a school day”, and this is certainly the case in my role as I am always learning something new as CDE continues to create innovative solutions for our customers that help position us as global leaders in materials wet processing. This drive for innovation is a key building block to helping the company deliver on its vision to be the number one solutions provider of wet processing equipment in every country in the world, and in my role as Technical Writer, I look forward to continuing to develop to help CDE deliver on the vision.

What Advice Would You Have for Women Pursuing a Career in Engineering?

Engineering is an exciting industry to work in. While it is a male-dominated profession, it should not deter any female contemplating a career in the technical field. We are more than capable of performing the role, and the support from my male peers has been phenomenal. Furthermore, with hard work and a passion for learning, there are endless opportunities for professional development and promotions within the industry, and indeed within CDE.

Opportunities at CDE

Discover a world of opportunities with CDE by checking out our latest vacancies. You can also view our careers page to learn more about a career with CDE.

We have also recently launched CDE Talent Camp, a one-week camp for 15-17 year olds from schools and colleges across Northern Ireland who want to learn more about the world of Business and/or Engineering. CDE Talent Camp is your chance to take the first step towards an incredible career in Business and/or Engineering, and in an effort to encourage more females into this dynamic industry, we’d love to hear from you specifically.