Celebrating International Women's Day

Melissa Chisell is Junior Technical Engineer at AvantiGas and was Apprentice of the Year in the 2021 Young Person in LPG Awards and has been working for Avanti for the past 4 and a half years.

Congratulations on your recent win in the Young Person in LPG Awards, it’s a fantastic achievement. Can you tell us how long have you worked in the industry and your current role?

I have worked within the LPG industry at AvantiGas for 4.5 years, I started in July 2017 as a Project Administrator working within the Engineering and Technical functions.

In September 2018, I moved into an apprenticeship, as an Apprentice Technical Engineer, working primarily within the Technical department.

What inspired you to join the industry?

I wasn’t initially familiar with the industry and was attracted more to the position. Since joining, I have been impressed with the renewable drive and I felt there was a lot of potential for future development.

What was your education path into the industry?

I completed my GCSE’s and A-Levels, leaving school in 2015. I then moved into employment, working for various companies until I joined AvantiGas in 2017. As part of my apprenticeship role I am undertaking a 5-year apprenticeship, which I will complete July 2023. As part of the apprenticeship, I have completed a Foundation Engineering degree and I am now undertaking a BEng Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. Moving forward AvantiGas provides the opportunity to see various parts of the industry and I am keeping my options open as to the various paths available.

What does your role involve?

I am a Junior Technical Engineer based within the CES Technical department. Within my current role I provide technical support for both internal and external customers, complete engineering design and develop solutions and collaborate with team members as part of standards development and review.

What are your career aspirations?

At the moment I am aiming to complete my apprenticeship and move on from a junior role within the company, I hope to one day be a mentor myself and encourage the development of another young person new to the industry, the same way my colleagues have mentored me.

Who is your biggest role model in the industry or outside of the industry?

There’s no single person I’d identify, I often look to my colleagues and the senior engineers at the company itself and wider industry, the people I work alongside day to day and learn from.

What advice would you give to young women coming into the industry?

The engineering industry is often perceived as male dominated particularly within traditional heavy engineering. This can sometimes be off putting to young women who are considering careers within engineering and energy industries. This is quite often not the case and individuals shouldn’t be deterred from paths within the industry, there are many opportunities for a wide variety of skill sets and perspectives. It’s a very exciting time to be part of the industry working towards de-carbonization in the future and net zero - there are many opportunities to be explored. Equally, there are many opportunities to keep developing and expanding your knowledge as part of this process.

What has surprised you most about the LPG industry?

The industries focus and prioritisation to ensure collaboration, the continuous development of standards and the exploration of new technologies and diversification as we work towards net zero.