Georgina Daniel, 20, has made history by becoming the first female die-maker at Arden Dies.

The company,  established in 1964, manufactures dies and tooling for the packaging sector from its purpose-built factory site in Marple, but Ms Daniel admits she knew little about the industry before she joined the company in 2017. ‘When I first joined Arden, I hadn’t even heard of die-making. At the time I’d been working as a customer service apprentice in a warehouse, but I wasn’t enjoying it and needed a change.I always knew that I wanted to do a physical job and work with my hands. Growing up, I actually wanted to be in the military, but I had asthma, so it didn’t work out. Manufacturing and engineering really appealed to me and I wanted to learn a skilled trade. I just knew I didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day.’

Ms Daniel continued, ‘To be a die-maker, you need to be technically minded, physically fit as it involves swinging a hammer all day, and have good hand eye co-ordination, but women can have these skills too. I’m really proud to be Arden’s first female die-maker. It’s a great title to have and I’m really enjoying the role. The best bit about it is the feeling of satisfaction you get when you finish a job.’

Currently, women make up just 8% of the workforce of people working in skilled trades roles and less than 15% of people working in the STEM industries, (science, technology, engineering and maths) but Ms Daniel says she’d encourage more women to consider a career in these male-dominated sectors: ‘It’d be great to see more women in these sorts of roles and it’s not as daunting as they may perhaps think. I don’t feel like the odd one out, I just feel like one of the lads – we have a good laugh. As a woman, I had struggled to get a job learning a skilled trade, but times are changing and employers are recognising that women have got the right sorts of skills too, so I’d urge anyone who is considering this career path to just keep trying and not give up.’

Martin Poynter, managing director at the Arden Group, said: ‘Historically, manufacturing, particularly within the packaging sector, has been seen as a male-dominated industry, but that means that companies are missing out on the qualities and skills that women can bring.’