Philip Lloyd, a 3rd year civil and structural engineering student at Newcastle University, has joined the team working on our New Wear high-level Footbridge project, for a two- month summer placement.
Philip attended a site visit last month where he met our Project Manager and site team, had a tour of the site and took part in an informal interview for a summer work placement opportunity. Philip really impressed the team and began his placement at the start of this month.
During his placement, Philip will be mentored by VolkerStevin's sub agent Alasdair Miller. He will be shadowing our engineering team, learning about the project and gaining invaluable hands-on engineering skills and experience. He has thrown himself into the placement, fully integrating into the team, engaging with all aspects of his role and VolkerStevin’s values. He will also be joining the team in an upcoming litter pick at Roker Beach, as part of their social value initiatives.
We spoke to Philip to find out more about his placement and what inspired him to choose a career in engineering.
What inspired you to study engineering?
“My grandfather was a structural engineer, and he was who first inspired me to consider a career within engineering. I also really enjoy studying maths so wanted to study a subject where I can problem solve regularly.”
What do you hope to achieve in your career?
“I hope to achieve a chartership in engineering and hopefully even further in the future. Eventually I would like to be self-employed and contract engineering jobs myself.”
How have you found your placement with VolkerStevin so far?
“Something that has really resonated with me is that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. This is so true at VolkerStevin because everyone has been so welcoming during my first week. It's been great. I'm really excited to contribute towards the project and get some hands-on experience”.
