Snapshots

Episode
Engineering A New Life
Broadcast Info
2005 (14 mins)
Description
Faye works at the Lever Faberge plant in Leeds, the largest deodorant factory in Europe. She was headhunted to keep their state of the art production line running smoothly, both day and night. Faye stands out in the factory as she is the only female engineer and at 24, she’s also the youngest by far. She was born into a mining community in Yorkshire. But when the mine was closed down in the early ‘70’s the community began to decay and the area is now notorious for it’s crime, burnt out houses and hard drugs culture. Faye’s father died when she was just 2 years old, and she was brought up by her violent, alcoholic stepfather in a household with no electricity. She left home at the age of 10 and was officially taken into care at the age of 15. This was a turning point in her life. She had left school with no qualifications and was working for low wages on a factory production line when George and Pat Cowe became her foster parents. They offered her the love and support that she had never had before and encouraged her to go back to school. She flourished, gaining 8 GCSE’s in just one year and winning best student award for her first engineering qualification. Faye enjoys the trapping of her well paid job, she has her own home and a passion for fast cars. But she’s isn’t content to stay still and has a burning desire to keep moving up the career ladder as quickly as possible. She’s currently studying for an engineering degree through the Open University which she sees as the next logical step to push her onto the next level and is aiming to join the Lever Faberge fast track management scheme, which could lead to her taking up high powered engineering posts around the world. Faye is an accomplished marathon and triathlon athlete and raises money for the NSPCC. She also spends time at NSPCC centres, talking to the children and helping them to see that they can make a success out of their lives if they work hard.
Genre
Science; Research

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Snapshots". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/81674 (Accessed 11 Jan 2025)