As a project management apprentice at Highways England, Ellie Noble, 20, gets to observe first-hand the construction of projects that she has worked on
After leaving sixth form, I didn’t want to go to university and build up lots of debt, when instead I could achieve an invaluable qualification while learning on the job and earning money. So I applied for a level 4 project management apprenticeship at Highways England.
I have been with Highways England since January 2019, working in the complex infrastructure programme team dealing with tier 1, multi-billion-pound projects such as A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Lower Thames Crossing, A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down and A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet.
Working in the programme team provides amazing opportunities as it allows me to oversee the lifecycle of multiple projects and support various workstreams. My role varies day-to-day—from delivering training on how I use Office 365 tools to improve productivity, to creating and distributing reports and dashboards to the team. I assist project managers with their daily tasks such as scheduling, risk analysis and stakeholder mapping, which offers me a great insight into my future career. I have been lucky enough to be able to attend site tours to experience the work done by the project teams in action and observe the construction of projects I have worked on.
Alongside the work I do for my team, I have recently been appointed as vice chair of the Graduate and Apprentice Network. This role includes organising conferences and events to connect the graduates and apprentices within Highways England, planning and delivering webinars, representing graduates and apprentices within the wider business, and supporting my peers where needed. It is extremely rewarding to see my colleagues helping each other with coursework and to see their relationships grow.
I’d highly recommend to anyone considering an apprenticeship at Highways England to go for it! There are many opportunities to build your knowledge and experience within a range of areas, whilst meeting and learning from some amazing people.
To find out more about apprenticeships at Highways England, visit careers.highwaysengland.co.uk
