Member Article

Lining up successful careers in construction

A North East developer’s drive to encourage talented young people into the construction industry has continued with the appointment of two new graduates.

Caitlin Morton, 23, from Hartlepool, has taken on the role of Graduate Development Coordinator with Galliford Try Partnerships North and Amy Gray, also 23, from Gateshead has joined Galliford Try Group’s housebuilding division – Linden Homes – in a Sales and Marketing position.

Impressive growth and a raft of prestigious new projects, means the business – both nationally and in the North East – has launched a drive to highlight career opportunities in construction and bring talented people into the business.

Said Caitlin: “It was the variety that the job offers and the combination of working between the office and on location that made a career in development appeal to me. I completed my three year Planning and Development Surveying degree – sandwiched around a fourth year working and gaining experience on placement – in 2014 and I am delighted to have taken up this graduate role.

“It is a busy time for the company and I am currently working on a number of sites. I find it exceptionally rewarding to see the plans at the start of a project and to know that I am part of a team that will follow these through, delivering a finished building that people will use or call home for years to come.

“If you want a career that throws up new challenges every day and offers an incredible amount of job satisfaction, I’d highly recommend development and construction as an option. Firstly, work out which area of the industry is the best fit for you personally and gain as much experience as possible by taking work placements – I can assure you, they are out there.”

Amy added: “I have family that work in the construction industry and it has always been my ambition to do the same. I studied a four year Estate Management degree course – which included a year placement at a commercial property consultancy – and had always envisaged that I would end up working on the development side.

“However, when I heard about the opportunity to work in a sales and marketing role with Linden Homes, I was excited to find out more and felt it was a position to which I could bring a lot. I had to learn about certain new aspects particular to the job but my degree has given me a good grounding in the industry and a transferable skill set that has enabled me to adapt to these new challenges.

“It has also helped when working with different departments in the company, as I have an understanding of what they do and how best I can support them. “I absolutely love the job and I think that my experience highlights the many and varied opportunities for graduates in construction.”

Galliford Try has entered the Job Crowd league table as one of the top 100 graduate companies to work for, thanks to the career development programmes it offers. It also came within the top 10 for construction and civil engineering companies offering graduates opportunities to develop their skills.

Stephen McCoy, Managing Director at Galliford Try Partnerships North, said: “We are delighted to welcome Caitlin and Amy to our team. Construction is a fast growing and changing industry which offers a huge variety of career opportunities for both men and women. To be successful in the future, it is vital to encourage bright young people to make it their career of choice and to support them as they take their first steps in the industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .