The CIHT Emerging Professionals Conference continues to provide a valuable platform for those in the early stages of their career across the highways and transportation sector. Bringing together graduates, apprentices and early career professionals, the conference offers a unique opportunity to learn from industry leaders, share experiences and build networks that can support long-term career development.

From local authority officers and engineers to technology providers, the conference showcases the sheer scale of the transport industry and the variety of roles that exist within it. Events such as this expose emerging professionals to new career paths and gain a deeper understand of how different parts of the sector work in partnership. At a time when the industry faces significant challenges around climate change, public health and economic growth, supporting new talent is vital to build resilience into the industry.

The link between health and transport

The conference opened with an inspiring keynote from Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, whose reflections on the relationship between transport and public health left a particularly strong impression on me. Although the health benefits of sustainable travel are widely acknowledged, they are often overlooked during localised investment discussions as the benefits are difficult to attribute to individual schemes.

His challenge to the sector was clear: if we can better demonstrate the value of healthier travel choices, we can build broader support for interventions that encourage walking, wheeling and cycling. As someone who works in a local authority, I believe stronger health arguments could resonate better with people who are traditionally more resistant to walking and cycling schemes such as the elderly, both as part of the general population and as political decision makers. 

New experiences

For me, one of the highlights of the day was presenting in the ‘Transport as an Enabler’ session. Along with other regional representatives, I shared my findings from a series of workshops we held in our respective regions, discussing how transport can support connectivity, safety, health and social inclusion.

Despite differences between geographies, there was a striking level of consistency in our findings. Whether working in densely populated urban areas or more rural communities, many of us are grappling with similar challenges around changing travel behaviour, transport deprivation or access to education.

Our session concluded with a panel Q&A. This was my first experience speaking on a panel at a conference of this scale and despite inevitably thinking of some stronger answers on the train home, it was an incredibly rewarding experience. More importantly, it demonstrated the trust that the industry increasingly puts in emerging professionals to contribute to important conversations that shape future thinking.

Reflection and improvements

Several other sessions encouraged delegates to think differently about the future of transport. A discussion on autonomous vehicles explored their potential role in the private hire service, and while the focus was on the urban environment, it prompted me to reflect about where emerging technologies could deliver the greatest benefit. Could AVs have a stronger impact in rural communities where taxi provision is already low or wider benefits for longer distance freight transport?

Equally thought-provoking was the presentation from National Highways on its future priorities for the Strategic Road Network. The discussion made me reflect on how there should be a bigger push for National Highways to invest in alternatives to mitigate their congestion issues, shifting from the default of chasing capacity improvements. Improvements to rail and longer distance active travel routes could help remove some trips from their network and reduce the strain on its infrastructure.

A vital event

My main takeaway from the day was the mutual respect between established industry leaders and the emerging professional attendees. Young professionals were not there simply to listen; they were there to contribute, challenge assumptions and share fresh perspectives.

Events such as these are invaluable to our industry, bringing together diverse voices and creating opportunities that don’t exist in day-to-day activities, but are required if we want a transport sector that continues to innovate, adapt and respond to the changing needs of society.

• To read more about the 2026 CIHT Emerging Professionals Conference, click here.

• Greg Neil is transport planning officer at Devon County Council and CIHT South West Emerging Professionals Group Chair.