Celebrating women in engineering – meet Sharon Colvan

June 23, 2025
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INWED 2025 logo

Today is International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), a celebration of the amazing work that women engineers across the globe are doing. During Armed Forces Week we are profiling engineers employed by organisations that have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are part of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Meet Sharon Colvan, Operations Director at Glenhead Engineering Ltd. Glenhead signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2019 and was awarded the ERS Silver Award in 2023. Sharon is pictured above meeting Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney (back to camera) at Glenhead’s premises in Clydebank.

What initially sparked your interest in engineering, or when did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in that field?

“I took a summer job at Glenhead Engineering (formerly Clydesdale Tool & Gauge) in 1990 with the intention of going to college to study interior design. I never left!”

Were there any specific subjects in school that you particularly enjoyed or excelled at, and do you think they pointed you towards engineering?

“Art, Technical Drawing and Craft & Design, PE.”

What kind of higher education did you pursue?

“None. Over the years I have taken many management courses, sat my NEBOSH qualification and done many Sage accounting courses, but no Higher Education. All on the job learning.”

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced on your journey to becoming an engineer? How did you overcome them?

“Being believed in due to me being a female. My employer back that thought I was a risk and that they would train me as an engineer and I would leave the business to have a family, and here I am 35 years later.”

How did you land your first engineering job? What was that experience like?

“Pure luck. I came in to work on Polaroid camera lenses production parts as a summer job along with some other woman. Loved the place, the work and stayed.”

What drew you to your current role?

“Natural progression. I have worked in every area of the business: workshop, quality, health & safety, finance, sales and I have been the Operations Manager since 2005.”

What do you find most rewarding about being an engineer?

“Seeing the finished components, understanding how things are made and what the end use is.”

What qualities do you think are most important for a successful engineer to possess?

“Being able to think outside the box, working with my colleagues to problem solve.”

Is there a particular project or accomplishment you’re most proud of in your career? Why?

“Our building move. We moved facility back in 2014 and it was my job to project manage every aspect, not really engineering related, but ensuring the people stayed safe and the production had minimal downtime was imperative.”

What advice would you give to young people considering a career in engineering?

“It’s not the dirty industry everyone perceives it to be. It can be very rewarding, is a high value job and can open doors to a host of different people, industries and opportunities.”

#INWED25

ERS Silver Award presentation.

Sharon accepting the ERS Silver Award in 2023 from former HRFCA Defence Relationship Manager Roy McLellan.