Every girl taking a step towards a technical subject is a step in the right direction!

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been very active, and always wanted to know how everything around me works. Consequently, my parents decided to send me to a technical school. I started in Industrial Sciences, but it was too theoretical for me - I wanted more practice. That brought me to Electromechanics, which is a good mixture of theory and practice. There were 13 students in my class, and I was the only girl.

After high school, I enrolled in training courses in construction, but I quickly felt something was missing. I redirected and went for teacher training in electricity and mechanics, my subjects of choice.

This combination of subjects surprised a lot of people (and it still does), as they don’t expect a woman to teach them. To be honest, one of the reasons I chose them was to be a role model for other girls who hesitate when considering studying more technical subjects. A lot of girls are still wary of doing so, simply due to the fact that so few girls have studied them before. That is what I want to change as a teacher and a VET Week ambassador. Every extra girl taking a step towards a technical subject is a step in the right direction!

Lieselot Van Gysel, Teacher in Electromechanics, Belgium