Lauren McParland of Collins Aerospace

Wednesday 12 April 2023

My name is Lauren McParland and I work at the aircraft seating manufacturer, Collins Aerospace in Kilkeel. My role within the company is Maunfacturing Lead within its interiors division.

Collins Aerospace, which is a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corporation is headquarted in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has over 78,000 employees across more than 300 locations globally. Within the Kilkeel facility, we currently have over 750 employees.

I began my journey with Collins Aerospace in Kilkeel as a Supply Chain Intern and was fortunate to be able to return as a graduate upon finishing a degree in Business Management from Queen’s University Belfast in 2016.

Within Collins Aerospace, I completed a graduate development programme and was then selected to take part in the Collins Aerospace Step Up Programme in which I developed the skills and techniques required to successfully manage and lead a team.

Once I progressed to a Senior Supply Chain Analyst role in 2019, I completed a trainee manufacturing leader programme moving into the Operations side of the business. This exposure made me realise that Operations was the correct career path for me.

At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 as a site, we came together to follow new rules and regulations and I was able to provide guidance and support in a time of fear and uncertainty for my team.

Leading a large team of Operators and Master Assemblers whilst managing a mixed-model production line, building business class seats for over twenty world renowned airlines, has been challenging yet incredibly motivating and rewarding.

Being the only female Manufacturing Leader on the production floor and with a Supply Chain background rather than Operations, I knew I had to ‘break the bias’ and prove I could bring something new and innovative to the role.

As a female, I believe our empathy and ability to create a positive working relationship and environment has allowed me to build a team that trusts my judgement and is prepared to go the extra mile to support the production line, and ultimately, ensure orders are delivered to the customer within the agreed timeframe.

I really enjoy the responsibility of having a large team and understanding what motivates people and what makes them tick. My aim is to be able to encourage my own team to build confidence and enable them to develop and progress within the company too.

At Collins Aerospace in Kilkeel, if you are ambitious and want to progress, you are encouraged to develop and offered multiple opportunities to step up to that next level within your career. The director team at the Kilkeel site is already made up of 25% females and the site is making a conscious effort to ensure there are many training and development opportunities to progress, no matter what your gender may be.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given during my time at the company and I am looking forward to my future with Collins Aerospace.

Fellow WIB members can keep up to date with Collins Aerospace in Kilkeel on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/CollinsAerospaceKilkeel.