Meet the newly qualified technician
Profile: Eleanor Tierney, Highways Technician, in company for 3yrs
It is official: E.T. = Engineering Technician
Phew!
My career change really started over four years ago now. I was getting a time sheet signed off by the affable Phil Brocklebank when I commented on a photo on his computer screen. A voussoir was being lifted into place for a new bridge. “That’s a great photograph” I said.
“It is isn’t it?” he replied. “Haven’t you ever thought about doing work like this?”
The truth is, I hadn’t. It wouldn’t have been on my radar at all when I was at school or considering my future career prospects. Travel forward a few decades, and my working life had predominantly been in the hospitality sector and administration. It was only in my previous admin role that I came into contact with engineers and I’d seen the variety of roles and experiences that were out there in this field. I had some pangs of ‘I wish I’d known about this when I was at school’, but it all felt a bit out of reach to me at that stage in my life.
It was a few months later when I plucked up the courage to approach Shaun Tickle – Wilde’s Managing Director – to ask if they took on older apprentices (I was 38 at the time). Luckily for me, my desire to retrain was accepted and I was interviewed for an apprenticeship role.
I was paired with a welcoming, funny, and incredibly patient technician to shadow in my first stint with the structures department. Mike Ward was a pleasure to work with and made the transition a lot easier. Since then, I’ve worked on secondment in the highways department for a local authority and I’m currently working in-house in the highways department at Wilde.
I’ve been dangled over the edge of a bridge (safely contained in a MOOC), explored underneath the central shopping district of Stockport, ventured inside trial holes, and become closely acquainted with the A555 to name a few of the site visit experiences I have had. I like the variety of my work and as my knowledge grows, I am able to input more into the problem-solving side of my role.
I have worked on schemes on A roads and B roads right down to shared-use footway and cycleway schemes. Working on public realm schemes is a real pleasure; knowing that the changes to an area could create significant social and economic benefits to a community. Some of my contributions have been in site visits, drawing work, information gathering and adding to the works information documents.
I have particularly enjoyed working on new cycling and walking schemes recently. During the pandemic, I have used more of these facilities myself. I can see the difference in the volume of use where the provision of infrastructure is variable. It was great to see new routes being so heavily used that I had to wait a good while to take a picture of my bike overlooking the newly installed path to Pear Mill. The importance of accessibility has come more sharply into focus for me personally recently, as my Dad has become more immobile due to a health condition. I can see that the work I am involved in really can be a game changer for some people.
Everyone I work with at Wilde’s has been easy to work with, conscientious and forthcoming in their support to me during my apprenticeship. I feel that I can approach anyone for help, advice or to gain more in-depth knowledge along the way. This has been especially apparent during the pandemic when we have had to adapt to working from home. We interact through online platforms to complete tasks collectively where necessary, and I have had the benefit of training alongside my peers remotely to learn the functionality of different software packages.
Preparing for the end point assessment for my apprenticeship felt a little daunting, but I had great support from my mentors along the way. Colleagues across different disciplines watched my presentation and gave the constructive feedback necessary for me to improve it ahead of my interview date. I am hugely grateful to everyone for their input and it shows how adaptable our company is.
So, now it is official. I am a professionally qualified engineering technician and I can join the Institute of Civil Engineers as one. I am proud of the hard work that I have put in to get here, and delighted that Wilde’s took a chance on me while supporting me so well along the way. It is a team effort I’d say.
My next step is to apply for the civil engineering degree apprenticeship in September. I aim to do a MOOC with the Urban Cycling Institute and developing my maths skills in the interim to keep my learning momentum going.
I will make sure I have more free time for knitting, sewing and gardening in the meantime, and hopefully I will be able to celebrate my achievement in a pub at some point soon too!
