More than 200 Year 8 and 9 female pupils at Croesyceiliog School took part in an empowering careers event on Monday 9 February, led by Pro Steel Engineering in partnership with Olympic gold medallist and world boxing champion Lauren Price. The session, designed to inspire young women as they prepare to make key GCSE subject choices, highlighted the breadth of opportunity available across Wales’ construction and engineering sectors.
Lauren was joined on stage by two former Croesyceiliog pupils, Megan Watts, and Faye Pimm, who are now employed by local business Pro Steel Engineering. Together, the panel shared honest reflections on their career journeys to date, the barriers they’ve overcome in male‑dominated environments, and the personal successes that have shaped their professional lives.
The pupils engaged enthusiastically throughout, asking thoughtful questions about Lauren’s training and future goals, as well as the realities of Megan and Faye working on steel-specialist projects worldwide, and how to build confidence in traditionally male‑dominated fields.
Lauren is currently preparing for her next major bout on 4 April 2026, when she will defend multiple world welterweight titles against unbeaten contender Stephanie Pineiro at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff.
Speaking about the event, Lauren said she was proud to support an initiative focused on resilience, ambition and representation. She said: “Confidence, hard work and belief can take you anywhere. Seeing these girls engaged and curious about their futures is fantastic. They deserve to know there’s no career off limits.”
Coordinated by Pro Steel Engineering’s Co-Founder and Director Richard Selby, who is also an ex-pupil of the school, he has long been vocal about the urgent need to attract more women into construction and engineering, sectors currently experiencing well‑documented skills shortages. Events like this form part of the company’s ongoing commitment to outreach, early engagement, and breaking down gender stereotypes that still persist across the industry and beyond.
Richard said: “We know the sector faces significant skills gaps, and broadening our industry’s talent pipeline is essential for Wales’ economic future, and we know ourselves how invaluable upskilling local supply chains is. If we can encourage more girls to see construction and engineering as exciting, viable career paths, we all benefit. And we couldn’t think of a better way to do this than allowing the pupils the opportunity to ask those women breaking down those barriers themselves.
“Lauren is an incredibly accomplished athlete, and a role model to so many so it was fascinating to hear about the inspirations in her life, the training regime she thrives on, and the ambitious goals she’s still got on her list. Complementing her were our two employees Megan who is a welder, and Faye an assistant project manager were both brilliant in talking honestly about the realities of being women in the industry and the paths that led them here. Both are mothers to young children and they spoke openly about the opportunities the engineering sector is providing them, the flexible working patterns they’re able to achieve to balance work and homelife, and also the goals on their own lists they’re looking to tick off in the future.
“A big thank you to all pupils who attended and asked those great questions to the panel, and to Headteacher Natalie Richards and Deputy Headteacher Alun Davies for embracing our request to do this event.”
Croesyceiliog School staff described the event as timely and impactful, arriving just as pupils begin to consider GCSE options and longer‑term ambitions.
Headteacher Natalie said: “The event inspired our girls to be ambitious and open their eyes to the opportunities ahead of them. The panel shared personal accounts of adversity as well as achievement which I know had an impact on our pupils. In addition to this there was a real pride about being women in Wales giving an enormous sense of pride for our heritage. A huge thank you to our special guests. Croesyceiliog school will be supporting Lauren in her next fight in Cardiff.”
The session concluded with a call to action for pupils to explore and consider STEM subjects, apprenticeships, vocational routes and the broad spectrum of roles from engineering and fabrication to project management and digital construction available within modern infrastructure projects.
