Meet Jayne, a senior project manager in the Rail sector.
Jayne joined Costain in 2008 and has had a range of roles across our water, rail and road sectors leading to her Fellowship of ICE in 2024.
What led you to your career at Costain?
"I first started working for my local authority, Cheshire County Council in contract management and I had an opportunity whilst working for them to do my HNC (Higher National Certificate). I completed the course at Stockport College and once qualified I moved onto a short-term secondment on an engineering project for the same local authority. This gave me an introduction to civil engineering.
After I'd finished that role, I decided that I wanted to carry on working on civil engineering projects. I saw an advert for Costain, I applied and went for the interview. That was 17 years ago, I got the job and that's where I've been ever since.
During my early career, I was nominated to join the first cohort of the Roads Academy, a joint initiative between the road industry and National Highways to develop talent. As part of the course completed a two-year diploma in Strategic Leadership at Sussex University.
I've since had a range of roles across water, rail and consultancy and I'm currently contract lead for the Service Partner Framework with Network Rail and various commissions we’re working on for Northern Powerhouse Rail."
How does your role contribute to improving people’s lives?
"I think the many schemes I have worked on all contribute to improving people's lives, however, I was lucky enough to work on the A556 new carriageway and link between the M6 and M56. I joined right at the start of the scheme and stayed until we handed over the new carriageway and the de-trunked section. The de-trunked section had a massive impact on the people who lived along the A556 as it changed from being a really busy dual carriageway to a single lane with a cycle track including a pedestrian walkway and horse riding facility. It was one of the most interesting projects I have worked on."
What’s your biggest professional achievement and why?
"I guess I would have to say becoming a fellow with the ICE and being chosen by ICE to help promote Women in Fellowship. Having a 10ft banner of yours truly displayed within the ICE building at One Great George St, London was an odd experience! But at the same time I felt extremely proud to represent women engineers."
What do you enjoy most about working at Costain?
"I enjoy the variety of projects and opportunities that I have been lucky enough to work on during the course of my career at Costain and the people I get to work with and meet. My managers, mentors and the L&D team have always been supportive and encouraged me to stretch and develop both personally and professionally."
What have you learned / what has inspired you during your time at Costain?
"Being encouraged by Costain in 2020 to apply for ICE Fellowship made me realise that other people appreciate and value the skills I have. It's given me more confidence to look at roles that I probably wouldn't have looked at before, and it's also given other people the confidence that I can do the job. Being an ICE Fellow makes me feel that I have proved myself."
What advice would you give to someone starting out in their career?
"I would always encourage others not to doubt themselves. If you're thinking of applying for Fellowship, get the right people behind you and have confidence in yourself. If you've got the right sponsors and they believe that you're ready to do it, then you should go for it. And when you start to write down everything that you've done, you suddenly realise that you've got a lot of experience."
Read Jayne’s ICE article here ICE Fellow: ‘The Biggest Thing Is To Have Confidence In Yourself’ | Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Connect with Jayne on LinkedIn or search our careers page to learn about our current job opportunities.