Global business ENGIE 'delighted' by Together Training's Construction Management apprenticeship programme
Christina Smith, Regional Learning and Development Manager at ENGIE, recently spoke of her delight at finding three new talented apprentices through Together Training to join her team.
“Together Training helped us select the right programme for a cohort of our construction apprentices. As advocates of women in construction, we were also delighted to support three female employees into construction management apprenticeships.”
Fiona Gore, Assistant Design Coordinator at ENGIE, was selected for a construction management apprenticeship for her career progression. She said: “I believe apprentices are vital for the sustainability and continuing growth within our company.
“Training new and existing staff through apprenticeships helps us meet client demands for higher levels of quality and service.”
Q&A with an apprentice
Fiona Gore
Assistant Design Coordinator ENGIE
What do you enjoy most about your role at ENGIE/ in Construction?
In my role as an Assistant Design Coordinator, I enjoy that I get the opportunity to experience the design process of a construction project including meeting with the architects, other consultants and understanding the different responsibilities each consultant and subcontractor has within a project. As well as the queries and issues that arise from all the different designs and how they interconnect together.
What’s your proudest achievement at ENGIE/in Construction?
In my old role as a Bid Manager, my proudest achievement is changing the ways the bid team and marketing team worked to make processes more efficient which many are still being used in the team today. I have been doing my current role as Assistant Design Coordinator for seven months and my proudest achievement is moving to the new role and learning the technical side of construction design. On a personal level, I have effectively taken a step down from Manager to Coordinator, but what has kept me motivated is knowing my hard work and dedication will foster a new career for me.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into what you do?
Working in the design team of a contractor, I gain a broad knowledge of all aspects of the construction process and work with different disciplines. As well as design, this includes the preconstruction phase, programme methodology, legal aspects, cost effects and seeing a lot of the build process. It can be challenging coordinating the different contractor and subcontractor designs at times, but if you want a fuller picture of a project then this job will be for you. However, my advice would be to familiarise yourself with the different branches of design to find which excites you more, as maybe the technical details of architecture or engineering will be more the route that you will enjoy. Nevertheless, research the different ways of getting into the design field you want, and ensure you read the job description and understand the career path requirements before taking the step.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I am passionate about my friends, being there for them and socialising with them regularly, and its lovely to know I am appreciated. In regards to socialising, I enjoy going to the pub, escape rooms, going to gigs/festivals and trying new things. In my spare time I like playing sports and games, as well as watching movies.