Laura McKenna is an assistant quantity surveyor within our Construction North & Scotland business. Based in Scotland, Laura is currently working on the NHS Golden Jubilee new surgical centre project in Glasgow.
Recently Laura graduated and here she discusses her journey into the industry and the important message she wants to share with others.
“I want to say to others, your school exam results don’t define you, success can be achieved in different ways and at different times.
In 2017, I was in my final year at school. I was disappointed and deflated as I hadn’t achieved the grades required to study maths at one of Scotland’s top universities. It forced me to consider my options and look at different courses, universities and career options.
I decided to order prospectuses for all the universities within a close proximity of where I lived. I came across a quantity surveying course at Caledonian University and I didn’t really know what it was, but it sparked an interest and I decided to do some more research. What I discovered was that it had a lot of maths and numeracy within it (which remained of interest to me) as well as hands-on learning at an actual construction site.
This sounded like it could be the course for me, however I learnt that the grades I was awarded at school meant I couldn’t go straight to university, instead I would need to do a higher national diploma (HND) first. I wasn’t averse to this, instead I saw it as an opportunity to learn and explore and see if this really would suit my skills.
I enrolled at the City of Glasgow College and throughout my time at there I had been working at McDonald’s, but I felt I needed to gain some experience within the industry I was hoping to work in. At the time, there were no vacancies suitable so I used my initiative and contacted all of the relevant companies I could find to explain that I was progressing into my third year of university and looking for a role to go alongside my studies. Kier offered me the role of a quantity surveyor whilst completing my studies part-time at Caledonian University.
Fast forward to now, I have graduated from university with a 2:1 having successfully completed all my modules and dissertation. This is my biggest achievement so far within my career, as I have dedicated a lot of time and effort into my studies to achieve my goals, which has now thankfully paid off.
Quantity Surveying is the perfect role for someone who is willing to learn and is eager to involve themselves in an everchanging industry - no two days are ever the same! This role gives a vast insight into all other professions and trades within the construction industry and is a great starting point to learn about the different roles required to deliver a project.
Within Kier, quantity surveyors have a longstanding tradition of going far, so I am excited for the future.
I have and will continue to encourage other young people to pursue a career in construction from quantity surveying to engineering, as I have found that the benefits of joining a business like Kier at a trainee level can have such a positive impact on your early career and will really help to pave the way to a bright, successful future within the industry.”
Find out more about careers at Kier, here.
Find out more about careers at Kier, here here
