CIOB at Coleg Cambria event

One to watch

Lydia McGuinness Section manager, Wates Construction Yorkshire and North East

Why did you choose a career in construction? What else might you have done? I chose construction because I get to be part of a team that creates an environment for the local community to have homes, learn, work and make memories.

My first ever project was constructing a helipad for the hospital that treated my grandma, and my last project was refurbishing a building in which my mum told her family she was pregnant with me.

If I didn’t get my apprenticeship, I would have gone to university to study business.

You were a CIOB Rising Star last year. Tell us why. I was extremely grateful to have won the CIOB Rising Star award. I believe it’s important to drive change in the industry, by challenging the existing issues we have and making it a more attractive industry to work in. I have always gone above and beyond to help remove stereotypes and improve the image of the industry, and winning this award was a reflection of that.

You’re obviously driven – what are your career ambitions To one day become a project director of a high-profile construction project, while maintaining a good work/life balance.

What do you love about the industry? What one thing would you change if you could? I love the collaboration and excitement of our industry. When working on a project, you get to work with so many different professions and trades. I find myself always saying “You learn something new every day” because I genuinely do. No two days are the same; it’s an industry I will never get bored with.

I think we could improve on how we sell ourselves as an industry. We need more young people (especially women) to choose our industry, so let’s shout louder about why they should.

What do you do in your spare time? I play tennis around four or five times a week – it’s a huge part of my life.

CIOB promotes construction to women at Welsh college

Coleg Cambria celebrates International Women’s Day with event for pupils

More than 120 young women

attended an event designed to attract females into construction and engineering in March.

Coleg Cambria’s Bersham Road site in Wrexham invited all secondary schools in north-east Wales to join a day of workshops, seminars and activities ahead of International Women’s Day.

Leading names from both sectors attended, including CIOB and CITB.

Pupils enjoyed a tour of facilities and talks from some of the region’s top women in industry.

Gemma Booth MCIOB, who recently moved from construction to education with Cambria, said the event showcased what the college and the organisations have to offer.

Pupils get to grips with hammers and drills at Coleg Cambria

Member’s book stresses the need for safe design

Andy Painting is co-author of a book based on experiences in the industry

Andy Painting MCIOB, director of Attis, is the co-author of An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, published earlier this year by Wiley-Blackwell.

Painting, who is a director of the Institute of Construction Management, and his fellow author David England have worked in design and construction for many years in all the four key dutyholder roles – most recently as principal designer. They wrote the book after witnessing a lack of understanding and implementation of the regulations and tools available to develop and construct all types of design.

More importantly, they saw how the safety of the project, or the asset’s construction, or even its eventual use, were frequently not considered until quite late in the project – often leading to expensive redesign or rework.

They demonstrate that safety is of paramount importance and can not only improve the project’s output, but also the health and safety of the intended users as well as providing savings in both capital and operational expenditure.

The book is intended for use by all stakeholders involved in construction and is an excellent reference for students of any discipline where design is a component part of their syllabus.

The book is now available in hardback from Wiley and Amazon.