MEng Civil Engineering, Loughborough University - 2006

Upon completion of my MEng Hons in Civil Engineering at Loughborough University I made the epic move from my home town in St Austell, Cornwall to Northampton when I started work for Solaglas Contracting Midlands based in Coventry in July 2006.

My first role was as a Commercial Estimator. Following an intense week of training and product familiarisation I was thrown in at the deep end (with support from a great team of course!) and was soon not just responsible for quoting jobs, but also meeting with clients, contractors and architects.

The highlight of this role was when I won my first job - Council Offices in Mansfield worth £375,000. It was a nice but scary feeling. At first I felt kind of apprehensive - what if I had made a mistake with the quote? - but my training and the knowledge I had acquired from the team had done me proud!

As a first role I found this to be the best foundation to my knowledge base that I could have hoped for. Not only was the learning curve steep, but I had responsibility from day one, as the prices I would estimate (quotes ranging from £60,000 to £800,000) is the price agreed upon. It was by no means an easy job!

In January 2007 I moved into a Fabrication Engineers role within the same business - this meant that not only did I get to learn how the aluminium factory works but I got to get to the ‘nitty gritty’ of the business whilst I produced machine operations manuals, reviewed and recommended improvements for the factory and yard layouts, updated health and safety documents and I also conducted a noise survey.

However, it wasn’t long until my next challenge was presented in June 2007 – yes, it was time to do my stint as a fixer and experience how we actually install our products. Despite the early starts (usually before 7.30am) I really enjoyed myself - it was great to see what problems the guys have at site and the satisfaction that you gained at the end of the week when you reflect upon what you have actually achieved that week.

From there I moved straight into an Assistant Project Managers role in July 2007. The role involves managing the design team and site operations - that is 3 Draughtspeople and up to 20 guys on site - as well as the material procurement and design issues. The main responsibility within this role lies between the advice I give to the design team and the financial aspects of the jobs - one wrong move and I could make a very big (and costly) mistake. I get so many problems thrown at me in my current role and the role has thrown many challenges at me – but each challenge has drawn upon the experience and knowledge I gained from my previous roles.

If I had to sum up my experience so far on the New Manager Development Programme it would be as challenging, exciting and diverse (and no I wasn't paid to say that!). You will really thrive in Solaglas if you have drive, are hard working and prepared to go the extra mile and innovative.

What roles lay ahead of me I do not yet know … but what I know is that I am guaranteed that the challenges will be thrown at me in plentiful amounts regardless of where the path leads me within Solaglas.