The theme of this year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is ‘Engineering Heroes’.

To mark INWED, we are profiling our own heroes – the women in engineering here at Pryme Group.  Today we focus on Beth Parr, Standard Sales Manager at Hydratron (A Pryme Group Company).

Beth enjoys working in the engineering sector because she loves working with people from all over the world as well as the variety of her role. Here she shares a bit more about her responsibilities and experience:

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

I will have worked for Hydratron for ten years this July.  I am part of the Sales team and my role predominantly involves quoting and supplying standard products internationally.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Every day is different as I get to work with different customers all over world. I also work with a great group of people within Hydratron.

What does it entail day-to-day?

My day-to-day entails quoting customers, placing sales orders, dealing with overseas shipments and dealing with general enquiries. It’s always varied and you meet some great people.

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

I have no qualifications in Engineering or Sales as such. After leaving full time education I started work as a receptionist.

I started my career here at Hydratron in that role, and an opportunity came up for a job in the sales team a few years later, which I applied for. It’s the role I still have today. I have been lucky enough to work and learn from some incredible people within the engineering world – all of which have worked for Hydratron.

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

One of the main challenges I have faced whilst at Hydratron was moving from being the receptionist to working in sales. Although within the same company the roles are obviously very different and I was required to learn a lot of information. I overcame this by not being afraid to ask questions, making notes, asking colleagues for help and generally just learning each day to continually improve.

Who is your engineering hero or inspiration and why?

My engineering hero is definitely my dad. He started working for Hydratron in 1982 and played a major role within the company for many years as a Design Engineer. He retired from Hydratron after 30 years of service in 2012. His dedication and enthusiasm for the business is very inspirational.

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

My advice would be to find a well-established company within the industry where you can progress your career. Take every available training course offered, work closely with colleagues who you can learn from and establish great working relationships with your customers.