After my A-levels I was planning to study philosophy and English at Manchester university. I took a job over the summer with a Contractor who specialised in retail fit out in an admin role and they offered me an apprenticeship with them to become a Project Manager. From that moment I became an apprentice in the Construction Industry. This apprenticeship supported me over a five year period to learn on the job and complete my studies resulting in a Construction Management degree with Honours. This was an incredible start to work, supported with learning and having the opportunity to build my own network.

After a few more years I then moved into a Consultancy role where I work with both the Contractor and Client Teams directly. This role is heavily focused on team communication and co-ordination of all project elements. 

There is literally never a dull day in construction! Every stage of a project has its challenges which as a project manager this keeps us on our toes! Within the role of a Project Manager you get to work with every member of the team which exposes you to a range of people and their expert skill sets which is a pleasure to constantly learn from. In addition to this being involved from an project concept, throughout its delivery and seeing it complete is very satisfying. Within all of our projects now we also are increasingly been given the opportunity to make sustainable inputs for the environment and socio-economic environment which will leave a legacy for the future. 

Being underestimated can be a challenge. Being a young female in a male dominated industry I have experienced others’ unconscious bias in assuming I don't have the knowledge or ability to handle tough situations or characters. I have overcome this by always making sure I know the facts and the detail. I also ensure that when I say I'm going to do something I make sure I do it. Leading with honesty and and good intentions has served me well in building solid relationships in the industry. 

The industry is vast and there is a wide range of roles you can be involved in which keeps the work and career experience varied. The industry is also very consciously involved in changing the future of how we live work and socialise building long term solutions to reduce the impact to the environment which is an amazing opportunity to actively support future generations.