• Nuclear

Gemma, a first among equals

23-year-old Gemma Elliott has graduated with a first class degree in industrial engineering which she attained as part of her apprenticeship with JFN.

As an inspiration to women considering engineering, she was chosen by Shrewsbury College, where she studied for her degree, to feature on a campaign promoting the course.

Gemma joined JFN four years ago as a trainee technician after gaining work experience at at Trawsfynydd nuclear (decommissioning) power plant.

‘I found the electronics/mechanics mixed in with radiation detection science exciting but I never thought I’d end up being an engineer,’ she says.  

‘The fact that there are so few women working in the industry was a big drive for me to work hard and excel in my studies and on-site work.’

Now, Gemma travels between nuclear licensed sites (EDF and Magnox) calibrating radiometric equipment in radiologically controlled areas.

‘I get to visit multiple sites on a regular basis so I’m constantly meeting new and interesting people, training on new instruments and getting involved with new technologies/system upgrades,’ she says.

‘My job is incredibly varied.  On any given day I might be called on to calibrate or repairing radiometric equipment at one of our customer nuclear licensed sites. We use radioactive sources to determine detector efficiencies and if there’s a break-down I may need to interrogate the circuit boards on the equipment to diagnose the fault.

This kind of work keeps you on your toes – which suites me perfectly,’ she adds.