Being selected for a scholarship programme was a great opportunity. I had an interview at university and found out that WSP had offices all over the country, including in my hometown of Truro.

Getting started

I did placements in Truro and Exeter which gave me a taste for working in both the Structures and Highways teams. That was really useful because I was still trying to figure out what pathway in civil engineering that I wanted to go down.

Since joining WSP, one of the areas I've been working on is highway drainage design, which always throws up complexities. For example, I had a relatively simple project, updating the drainage for the rebuilding of a retaining wall alongside a short stretch of road. We went ahead with the design, but at the construction stage, they found a BT cable that no one knew about. That required us to rethink our design and look at using combined kerb and drainage (CKD) units, often used where there are space constraints. Because of the limitations of the retaining wall, I used some products normally used on bridges, which we managed to figure out a way to incorporate.

Giving back

I’ve been heading the Professional Growth Network in Truro, which has been great for interaction and collaboration between early career professionals. A big part of it is giving younger people an opportunity to make connections with each other, as well as people who've been in the business for longer, in a more relaxed environment.

We also tend to encourage the social aspect of things. I’m the rep for the WSP Foundation, which coordinates charitable giving within the company, with fundraising events such as volunteering days, cake bakes, Christmas jumper days and those sorts of things.

Recently, our Truro office won Office of the Year in the national WSP awards, in part due to prioritising making the office welcoming. We like to make sure that anyone who comes through the door feels at home. And, as the office is located in Cornwall, WSP staff from other offices on holiday in the area like to spend time here. Having won Office of the Year, we expect to see more of that.

I’m also the Social Value Lead, on the 10-year strategic partnership we have with Cornwall Council. The role is about ensuring that our company is making a positive difference in communities where we're working. WSP, for example, gives every employee two days of volunteering time a year, so I coordinate that volunteering for gardening or beach cleaning, or for STEM events – we’re a part of the Women in Engineering Day every year at a local school, so we get involved in that.

Future-proofing

The future of the industry is certainly exciting. I've worked on projects involving active travel schemes and it's made me appreciate how much the industry is moving towards prioritising walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and away from car use. In the south-west, it's probably going to be trickier and take more time, because of the rural setting, but where housing is being developed in the area, it's great to see that we’re thinking about that and designing spaces for non-motorised transport.

Emily Burton was in conversation with Craig Thomas.

CIHT’s Emerging Professionals Conference takes place on 26 April in Birmingham. Join the emerging professionals coming together with well-known and influential names within the industry to tackle issues including decarbonisation, professionalism and future mobility. WSP is a sponsor of the Emerging Professionals Conference.