Frisco: Industrial Project Engineer
Frisco Driever is at the beginning of her professional career but already enjoys a lot of responsibility as an industrial project engineer at Actemium, a brand of VINCI Energies in Belgium.
“I am following in the footsteps of my aunt, who holds
her own as a woman in a man’s world.”
- Name:Frisco Driever
- Age: 23
- Studies: Facility management at Cingel College in Breda
- Job title: Industrial Project Engineer
- Hobbies: Bootcamp, personal training and walking my dog
Frisco Driever is at the beginning of her professional career but already enjoys a lot of responsibility as an industrial project engineer at Actemium. At the moment she is mainly working as a contract, cost and progress controller. Frisco is developing a progress tool together with some colleagues from her Business Unit.
Who inspires you in your current job?
Frisco: My aunt. She runs a wood store with my uncle and she works very hard. When I was still at school, I loved helping her. I liked the way my aunt managed to hold her own in running the business. Both her technical knowledge and management skills inspired me. As an industrial project engineer working in a world with many male colleagues, I am actually following in her footsteps.
As a child, did you think you would become an industrial project engineer?
Frisco: No, I didn’t. However, the job is very much in line with the values and norms that I have always received as a child from my parents. My parents have always been self-employed entrepreneurs, so from home I was taught to take responsibility and to work on my own. I really love my job, because it is also very much in line with my character and what I stand for. I actually ended up in the technical sector as an interim temp by chance. However, the subject matter interested me so much that I quickly grew into it through my own experience, rather than through specific training.
Does it sometimes feel as if you are a woman working in a man’s sector?
Frisco: Not really. Of course, I have more male than female colleagues, but I have never really thought about being an exception on the technical floor as a woman. In my Business Unit, I mainly work with men. This is absolutely not a disadvantage for me; I really feel at home at VINCI Energies Belgium. When you enter a new project, it is very likely that you will encounter people with prejudices. However, I notice that this is not the case at all at VINCI Energies and I always feel part of the project team. This really makes me feel at one with our team. Until recently, I actually did not realise that women are less likely to end up in the technical or industrial sector.
VINCI Energies Belgium also pays particular attention to an equal gender balance and really tries to implement it. If you look at the entire management team, you see a lot of women. That is very nice to see and it makes you realise that VINCI Energies Belgium really wants to actively involve women in the company. For instance, the company also pays plenty of attention to International Women’s Day. This is how you really know it is all right. This is why women quickly and easily feel at home with us.
