Leicester engineering graduate’s placement success ‘pivotal’ in starting career

A prize-winning University of Leicester graduate has beaten the odds to kickstart her engineering career. 

As heavy industry continues to face a critical shortage of diverse engineering talent, University of Leicester graduate Stephanie Offor offers a valuable case study for incoming professionals. Having secured First-Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering, Stephanie is launching her career as a Manufacturing Engineer at Caterpillar at a time when women account for only about 16.5% of UK engineering occupations. 

In a rare academic double feat for the family, her sister Isabel simultaneously secured a First-Class degree in Law with Business from Nottingham Trent University. The shared family achievement has already gone viral across major social networks and syndicated via MSN. 

Stephanie’s rapid transition into the sector underscores the vital role that hands-on industry integration plays in engineering education. In 2025, she was awarded the prestigious Goldsmith Prize in recognition of her exceptional performance during her placement year—an experience she credits with solidifying her career trajectory.

Stephanie said: "My placement year was pivotal. Getting to understand the vast opportunities available and actually seeing a concrete place for myself in a heavy industry environment opened my eyes. It gave me the practical confidence to know that the work I was doing had tangible value well beyond the university lecture hall."

Ogo Ogbata, Director at Creativity and Sense Consulting, said: "Stephanie’s trajectory is very valuable to modern manufacturing needs as it demonstrates how the diversity pipeline can thrive when academic excellence is paired with robust longer term industry experience."

Looking ahead, Stephanie is focused on solving real-world manufacturing challenges, collaborating with veteran engineers, and actively creating structural opportunities for other women to enter the heavy machinery and STEM sectors.   

Demonstrating true community impact, she has completed a six-month technology accelerator mentorship and stepped straight up as a peer mentor to support next-generation students as they begin their own university journeys. 

• * Statistical Source: EngineeringUK, as cited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)