Fleetwood soldier Lucyanne wins top technician award

Lance Corporal Lucyanne Leo has been named the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Armed Forces Technician of the Year.

Lucyanne, 22 , a technician with Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), based in Wiltshire, joined the army five years ago.

Her key roles are repairing and maintaining the Coy’s battlegroup thermal imaging systems, Bowman radios and advising on vehicle electrical faults.

She has been recognised by the Institute for her commitment and enthusiasm to go above and beyond in her role as a junior technician, which has had a marked impact on the culture within her organisation.

Lucyanne, a former pupil of Cardinal Allen RC High School in Fleetwood, says she is passionate about promoting her role as a woman engineer and organised a local event highlighting opportunities both within engineering and the REME.

She also set up engineering challenges for young girls and shared her own experience with them, to help open their minds to all the possibilities Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) present.

On winning, Lucyanne said: “I am so pleased to have won this award and I feel honoured knowing that I was up against some really amazing competitors.

"The job satisfaction is so good and I feel privileged to have been recognised for this.

"I really hope that in the future I can help encourage other women to join the engineering world!”

The IET Achievement Awards were set up to recognise individuals from all over the world who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of engineering, technology and science in any sector.

This can be through research and development in their respective technical field or through their leadership of an enterprise.

IET President, Professor Danielle George MBE, said: “Lucyanne has not only excelled within her role as a junior technician, but her dedication outside of work in educating other young girls to follow similar career paths is highly commendable.

"She should be very proud of her achievements.

“The standard of this year’s entries made the judging extremely difficult."