The associate director at Concertus and committee member for the Ipswich Hub talks about her attraction to construction, and dancing in her spare time.
Why did you choose construction as a career?
While at university doing an Economics with Accountancy degree I got an admin job on a building site to help support myself through full-time education. I really enjoyed the work and ended up staying throughout my degree.
Seeing the variety of roles available gave me a deeper understanding of what the career would entail and a determination that I’d found the right path for me. When I graduated, Kier supported me through a conversion qualification to become a qualified quantity surveyor.
After 13 years with Kier my personal circumstances changed and an opportunity came to move from main contracting into consultancy and I took it. I’m now at a level where I get to combine teaching with the day job and can support the next generation of surveyors and project managers into the industry.
What do you love about the industry and what would you change if you could?
I love the people: a good project takes such a diverse range of skills and personalities to be successful that you can’t help but appreciate the teamwork. I also enjoy working in the public sector as every project has a meaning and benefits the communities we live in.
The only thing I could think to change is the perception that the industry isn’t a positive place to work. There are a lot of good people working hard at their chosen profession, and who do it extremely well, but there is still a way to go and still a lot of work to be done to ensure people who do not meet the necessary performance standards are held to account for poor work or behaviours.
That said, the industry has come a long way over the past 25 years, even if the journey is not yet complete.
What do you do in your spare time?
I’m a single parent, which takes up much of my spare time, but I’ve always loved to dance so in 2023 I took up ballroom and Latin dancing as a new challenge, including entering a few competitions along the way.
Soon I’m off to dance in Blackpool which will be a whole other level of glitter and glamour – very different to my day job!
