Women in Engineering: Jess Kitts - Assistant Project Manager

In this series, we’ll be highlighting some of the unique stories of the women in engineering at Taziker. Keep on reading to find out more about Jess Kitts, Assistant Project Manager in our Building Services team.

Despite always having an interest in engineering, Jess Kitts didn’t pursue a career in this field until she was 28 years’ old, initially deterred by the industry being male dominated. With an eagerness to learn, her work in sales within a small engineering firm opened up a whole host of opportunities, where she soon realised that she wanted to do more.

Reflecting on the early days of her engineering career, Jess said: “I remember always really enjoying engineering at school, but I didn’t see it as a realistic career option. However, when I started in sales within engineering, I built up a strong client base, working predominantly with schools and hospitals in maintaining their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC).

“I found that after a year or so, I was able to provide technical advice, as I often studied the reports that the engineers produced. Not only was this something I found interesting and wanted to learn more about, to be able to offer the expertise to my clients helped me to gain their trust and strengthened our relationship.”

Deciding to take the next step into an engineering career, Jess joined Taziker in January 2022 as Assistant Project Manager within our Building Services team. Her role involves a range of administrative and management tasks assisting our Project Manager, from preparing site documentation, organising the site set-up, submitting programmes for tenders and live projects, alongside managing and maintaining good relationships with our clients.

Talking about her time at Taziker so far, she said: “I wanted to progress within engineering and I knew I absolutely could at Taziker. The company is so diverse and offers a variety of opportunities.

“Through Taziker, I was able to attend the IOSH Managing Safety course. At first, I felt a little apprehensive, as I attended the course with 10 men that had been in the industry for many years. However, I was so proud of myself that I had the highest score at 99% and ranked in the top 5% of all delegates that attended IOSH courses over the past 10 years.”

When asked about what advice she’d give to the future women in engineering, Jess was keen to stress the importance of not listening to the stigma around the industry.

Jess said: “My most important piece of advice would be not to listen to any of the stigma around engineering being a male dominated industry like I did. The fact that I didn’t get into the industry much sooner is a huge regret of mine. Times are changing, always remain confident in yourself and champion other women!”