30 August 2012

One of Costain’s sponsored students has pushed forward her career prospects through her involvement at the inaugural Young Surveyors’ Conference held by the Fédération Internationale de Géomètres (FIG).

Carmen Tong attended the two-day event in Rome, which saw 120 young surveyors from 40 countries meet to network, improve awareness and encourage involvement in the profession, which is something of a ‘Cinderella speciality’.

The two days were filled with presentations and debates on topics such as how young surveyors could influence the future of the profession. A recurring theme was the lack of young people entering surveying due to its low profile both generally and at schools, which do not push surveying as a career option.

Carmen, who is due to graduate next year from the University of East London with a BSc Honours in civil engineering, surveying and mapping sciences, has been sponsored by Costain since she began the course in 2010.

Costain currently sponsors around 75 students, who take up secondments at its sites and spend a year with the Company as part of their degree courses.

Last summer, Carmen worked on the M1 Junction 10-13 widening project and this year will be employed on the revitalisation of London Bridge station.

“We have an award winning graduate recruitment programme for sponsored students,” said Group Innovation Manager Tim Embley. “Anyone can apply but we look for certain credentials – not just academic ability but also personal qualities. We’re looking for a balanced individual with a range of capabilities to respond to our customer’s requirements.

“In terms of our graduates this year, we’re very much focusing on developing their personal strengths.  This means developing talent that supports the transformation of the business to be a leading engineering solutions provider. Carmen has demonstrated her strengths by engaging and promoting Costain at this conference being an ambassador for the industry and Costain.”

“The initial benefit from the conference was really the networking side,” said Carmen, “together with getting together to exchange news and views.” She and her international colleagues are considering staging a European young surveyors’ conference next year.

Ends