LEGACY CASE STUDY: KAITLYN

“Coming back to volunteer was a full circle moment... seeing students in the position that I was once in.”

From joining PLACED Academy without a clear idea of where her future might take her to securing a degree apprenticeship with BAM and working as a site engineer, Kaitlyn’s journey has come full circle. PLACED Academy helped her discover the breadth of careers within the built environment, build confidence in her own abilities and develop skills that have continued to support her career. Now, she has returned as a volunteer to help young people who are in the same position she once was.

“To be honest, I didn’t really have many specific interests at the time. I was studying computer science at college but really struggling because I had no interest in the subject. I was considering architecture, but when I discovered it takes seven years of study, I wasn’t sure I could commit to that long a route. I picked three random A-levels at 16 and simply wanted to find something I was actually interested in.

The summer programme was great, especially building the 15-minute towns. I also really valued the sessions with industry professionals, seeing that many of them didn’t have a simple, linear path into their careers made me realise there are many options available, even if you don’t have everything figured out yet. Matt Weir really helped us by prompting us to ask questions to the professionals that we weren’t initially confident enough to ask ourselves.

My communication skills and confidence improved massively through presenting our work. Before PLACED Academy, I only really knew about the ‘headline’ roles like architects, but the Academy showed me the depth of other roles, like the various types of engineering. Having PLACED on my CV was a huge help because I didn’t have much relevant work experience or built-environment subjects from college.

Confidence is the number one thing. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, I often have to be assertive on-site, asking people to move machinery so I can set up my surveying equipment. It also helped me secure my degree apprenticeship with BAM. The Academy experience helped me stand out during the assessment centre team-building activities because I had developed the creative problem-solving skills they were looking for.

I’m currently a site engineer, which involves setting out, surveying, and quality assurance to make sure everything is in the right place. At the end of this apprenticeship, I’m going to get a degree in civil engineering and I am working towards professional qualifications with the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers).

The Academy gave me career clarity and showed me that even if you take the ‘wrong’ pathway in school, there are always routes available to get you where you want to be.”