She has flourished ever since she “fell in love” with the organisation in 1994 when, at the age of 17, she became the first female volunteer with Port Talbot Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT).
Later she did it again as the first women to take on the full-time post of Sector Manager, now known as Senior Coastal Operations Officers (SCOOs), who lead emergency responses, deliver training, and manage local groups of CRTs.
Embodying the “Accelerate Action” theme of International Women’s Day today (8 March), Nicola has risen through the ranks and is now Head of Operational Assurance at HM Coastguard – using her 30 years’ experience to ensure standards are met.
Recalling her Sector Manager debut in Cardiff in 2000, Nicola says: “I was not aware I was the first woman until I got the job. At that time women in operations rooms wore skirts. Women in the outdoor workplace had not been considered at that stage! I was having to put overalls over a skirt.”
Nicola's elder daughter, 20-year-old Emily, is now following in her wake as she trains to launch her own maritime career, driving cruise ships around the world.
Nicola says: “My mother was a stay-at-home mum. Whereas now my daughter could still have a family and go to sea because other people have paved the way and the supports are in place for her to able to do that.”
I have never felt that anyone has judged me as a woman. They see me as Nic the coastguard
Nicola’s path through the MCA led her to become one of the few women at the old Swansea Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) as a Watch Assistant before being promoted to Watch Officer at Tyne Tees Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre.
Her time later as a Sector Manager was paused to have children. Without the support that is now in place at the MCA, she went to work elsewhere but adds: “I always knew I would come back to HM Coastguard. I loved it.
“In 2000 they had never experienced a woman in those roles before. Things have improved massively. It was not sexist – but women had just not been considered in those roles.”
Now women are represented in senior positions across the MCA, such as Chief Executive Virginia McVea, Director of HM Coastguard Claire Hughes, and Executive Director of Corporate Services Chloe Bowes.
Nicola returned as a SCOO in 2016 before another promotion to Maritime Commander at Milford Haven MRCC. She then became a Counter Pollution and Salvage Officer, before taking on her current role in 2024.
Nicola adds: “I have never felt that anyone has judged me as a woman. They see me as Nic the coastguard.”
Would daughter Emily have considered a maritime career without her example?
Nicola says: “Although she went away and found it herself, she might not have looked at it at all without seeing me. Maybe I opened the door to her?
“And my younger daughter is into Formula 1 and racing. She’s seen women in those roles. It’s everywhere you look. For women now there are no restrictions. That’s what I have always told my girls.”
• For more information about how to enrol as a Coastguard Rescue Officer, visit https://hmcoastguard.uk/volunteer-as-a-coastguard
Main picture: From left are Emily, Nicola and Barbara Pearson
