25 November 2021
We had the pleasure of having National Highways and Balfour Beatty talk to our Construction, Engineering and Business students! It was a great insight into what it is like to work in the different industries.
Our first speaker Jonathan Wade, Project Manager at National Highways, opened with how National Highways work and talked about the latest projects they are working on. He explained how they have a £250 million budget for the M25 Junction 10 and A3 projects and talked about the vital importance of connecting businesses and the economy through good highway systems. Jonathon emphasized “starting your career as an engineering Apprentice will get you on the right career path.”
Howard Williams and Catherine Jenkins from Balfour Beatty gave an in-depth speech on their partnership with National Highways. Students were astonished when they learnt how big of a construction company they are. Howard explained, “we are one of the biggest and best construction companies in the world and I have been in engineering for 30 years.”
One of our Business Level 3 students, Karishma, commented:
“it was very interesting and informative. I found out that Balfour Beatty has a revenue of £7.8 billion.”
More detailed information was given to students when they went around to different tables, led by other team members. These included the Digital, Environmental, Construction, and Customer Service teams. Elizabeth Raeva, from the Digital Team spoke about her previous experience in engineering and how her current Apprenticeship works. She mentioned all the avenues students can take to work for Balfour Beatty, including “getting a degree in Quantity Surveying or construction.” Students were interested to hear how they also “fly drones to capture aerial images and videos of the site to make sure things are in order and everything is safe for workers.”
Our inspired students have a much greater understanding of how these industries work and what lengths they need to go to pursue such exciting careers.
Thank you National Highways and Balfour Beatty!
