11 May 2015

Costain impressed at the European Women in Construction & Engineering Awards at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London recently, scooping two major awards and topping the shortlist in a further six categories.

Lydia Walpole, a Senior Engineer working on the C336 Paddington New Yard contract, took Best Young Woman in Construction, while Rebecca Fleming, a Project Quantity Surveyor working on the Severn Trent Water AMP6 Framework, won Best Woman Quantity Surveyor.

Both winners praised their fellow finalists and acknowledged the help and support they have received from their colleagues in helping them in their careers to date.

Lydia, 27, was sponsored through her civil engineering degree at the University of Surrey and joined Costain in 2010 as a Graduate Engineer.

“The calibre of the finalists was pretty impressive so I’m just thrilled to win. The lead up to the awards, as well as the judging day experience, was enjoyable in itself, so to walk away with an award was a real honour,” said Lydia.

She added: “Civil Engineering is a fantastic career. I feel extremely proud to say that I’m a Civil Engineer and I love being able to say that I’m involved in construction projects that will make a difference to the UK, like Crossrail. Costain has really helped me to develop my technical, management and leadership skills, and my advice to anyone thinking of entering the industry is to grab every opportunity that arises and make the most of it.”

Rebecca, 30, joined Costain in 2012 and, although she didn’t start her Quantity Surveying career at Costain, she believes she has received good support since joining the Company nearly three years ago.

“When I was first offered the job I was quite nervous because the role involved managing a team, which I had never done before. But my manager gave me a lot of support and encouragement,” said Rebecca, who now helps to shape the commercial strategy for AMP6 and recently gained accreditation as an official NEC3 ECC Project Manager.

She added: “I was mentored through my Chartership in 12 months, which I passed first time. I couldn’t have done it without the guidance and financial support of Costain and my mentors, so this award says as much about how they helped me as it does about me winning.”

Also shortlisted for a major award was Sophie Billington (Network Performance Manager), Alice Crane (Section Engineer), Rachel Ellison (Project Manager), Andrea Green (Project Manager), Lee-Anne Woodworth-Hale (Senior Quantity Surveyor) and Kate White (Senior Instrument Engineer).

“I am absolutely delighted for the winners and everyone who was shortlisted. These awards are an outstanding achievement, demonstrating a strong and powerful message to other aspiring women in the industry. The awards also recognise their hard work and commitment to both our sectors and to Costain,” said Sally Austin, Group HR Director.

To find out more about the European Women in Construction & Engineering Awards, please click here

 

 

Pictured: The Costain 'Team' at the Awards night with Lydia Walpole, front row third from left, and Rebecca Fleming, front row fourth from left.

 

 

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