Tell us about your career and why you chose construction?
I started my career working as a development management consultant in residential and commercial development. After completing my master’s in Construction Management with UCEM, I moved to Turner & Townsend’s Health, Science and Education team, where I worked on a number of high profile projects including Bupa’s UK Headquarters relocation, the Dyson School of Design Engineering and one of the Department for Education’s flagship schools projects.
In 2019 I moved to 3PM as a senior project manager on health, higher education and science and research projects. I am currently running a number of interesting projects as well as working on business development and helping to develop a company CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy document.
I fell into the construction industry completely by accident. I had not really considered it as a viable career path until I saw the job spec for a construction project manager and realised that ticked a lot of boxes for me.
You are fairly new to membership and already involved with London Hub. Why?
I wanted to get involved with CIOB for several reasons. A lot of the CIOB mission statements align with my own values. I consider it a privilege to be chartered and also like the way the CIOB represents all those in the built environment, up and down the supply chain.
“I hope to see a future where designing a building to embrace the diversity of user needs is considered simply as a moral duty rather than seen as a burden on the bottom line.”
Rachael Keeble, 3PM
I really enjoy working in the industry, however I do think that there are improvements that can be made. Applying to be a part of the London Hub was the next step in being able to create some of those positive changes.
What changes would you like to see?
I think there is already positive change happening within the industry with more collaborative methods of working being embraced. The industry is becoming slowly more diverse and mental health issues associated with construction are starting to be addressed. However, when you compare the rate of change with other industries it is clear that construction has a way to go and some catching up to do.
I would like to see a future where when I attend meetings I am not one of the only female representatives. I hope to see a future where designing a building to embrace the diversity of user needs is considered simply as a moral duty rather than seen as a burden on the bottom line.
I would like to see modern methods of working encouraged by everyone up and down the supply chain to keep the industry competitive and up to date.
I hope to see the old methods of squeezing project supply chains disappear, instead encouraging smaller companies to emerge and succeed. I also really hope that we can continue to build the future of the industry on the model of collaboration and inclusivity.
