To mark this year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) we are recognising our own ‘Engineering Heroes’ here at Pryme Group.

We begin with Amy McGuinness, Marketing Manager, who specialises in communicating key messages within the engineering sector.  Amy loves the fast paced and varied nature of working in engineering. Here she shares a bit more about her role, responsibilities and experience.

Tell us a bit about you and your job. What are the key skills required to do your job?

I am responsible for consistently and effectively communicating the vision and values of Pryme Group both internally and externally.

It sounds corny but to work in marketing you have to be a “jack of all trades” especially when you are in a small team or working as the sole marketer. I would say the key skills for my role are: communication, project management, resource and financial management, analytical skills and creativity.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Pryme Group is the third engineering company I have worked for and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t want to work in a different sector. When you work in an engineering environment you get to see and do different things every day – there is always something cool on the shopfloor that offers a great photo or video opportunity.

Engineering is such a fast-paced environment that it is rare that I will do the same thing two days in a row – that is the bit I love most.

What does it entail day-to-day?

I am constantly thinking about where we want to be next year and planning how to get there, this includes all types of marketing activity from strategy creation to writing a catchy social media post. There’s also always ad-hoc support to provide to the six businesses within Pryme Group, this can be anything from editing a brochure for external release to nipping onto the shopfloor to video something interesting that’s going on.

What has been your career path to this job? What qualifications and/or training are required?

I didn’t take the “typical” route into marketing. I left school after completing the first year of sixth form and went to do an apprenticeship in business administration at a local engineering company. This was the first job I had ever had and despite it being a steep learning curve I absolutely loved working. After staying in the admin team for about 18 months I was offered an opportunity to explore other areas of the business so for two years I assisted in the Marketing, HR, Legal & Sales teams whilst completing a foundation degree in business management.

I loved my time in marketing and decided I wanted to pursue this as a career and so I went on to study with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, obtaining the Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing. A couple of years on and I am still studying, I am currently halfway through the Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing with the CIM and hope to become a chartered marketeer soon.

The marketing qualifications give you an excellent foundation to work from, but there really is no training like on the job learning!

Have you experienced any challenges in your job? How did you overcome them?

I would say my biggest challenge has been educating those around me about what marketing really is.

It’s true that the marketing department create nice shiny brochures and take pictures, but marketing is about so much more than that. Marketing is understanding how changes in both the internal and external environments impact the positioning and strategy of the business – this is the bit of marketing that often goes unseen. I am very fortunate that the key stakeholders in Pryme Group are so receptive and open to marketing – it makes my job a lot happier!

Who is your engineering hero or inspiration and why?

I have been very fortunate in my career to have had some excellent role models, who have pointed me in the right direction and given me advice when I have needed it.

My biggest inspiration is my mentor, Victoria Bosi. Victoria was the first marketeer to have ever worked at the engineering company where we both started out and she built the marketing department from nothing. Engineering can often be “old fashioned” when it comes to marketing and it takes time to build trust and respect from the internal stakeholders who are there monitoring everything you do. Victoria created that marketing education and trust which resulted in a globally respected brand. I will always take inspiration from this and hope that I can implement the things she taught me and be the best engineering marketeer that I can be.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career such as yours?

If you want to be the best marketeer you can be, my advice is – do the course, read the book and attend the seminars. You don’t know how much you don’t know until you’re out there doing it on your own (trust me, I know!). So take every opportunity to learn and thrive and speak to as many people as you can. You never know who will deliver the golden nugget of advice that will stick with you for the rest of your career.

Which projects have you most enjoyed working on or are you most proud of?

Every engineering company I have worked for has had its own challenges when it comes to marketing, for different reasons. I always look at the challenges that I have the ability to have a positive impact on. I love nothing more than seeing the positive results of a piece of work I have put my heart and soul into. That’s why I love my job.