Inspiring the Next Generation: A Positive Work Experience Week at Curtins

Last week, our Liverpool team had the pleasure of welcoming John, a Year 9 student from local high school, St Anselm’s, as a work experience student. He joined us to explore what our central services and engineering teams do in their day-to-day work at Curtins.  

This opportunity gave John a glimpse into what working at a dynamic engineering consultancy like ours can look like. It expanded his knowledge of the various career paths that contribute to a successful business, including HR, Learning and Development, and Marketing. 

As part of his session with the Marketing team, John was asked to write a blog about his time with our different departments. We think the following entry, written by John, is a perfect insightful reflection on a week we hope helped shape his direction as he considers future options after school. Check it out below: 

Curtins provided a useful representation of what it is like to work in an inclusive and innovative engineering consultancy. Now, I have the knowledge I need to make the right decisions when entering the Engineering Industry. 

I had an interest in going into Engineering, but was still unsure of the daily tasks, responsibilities, and the people I would interact with; therefore, I chose the company that appealed to me the most: Curtins. They had an attractive website with relevant information, and emails with office manager Julie Hugill gave a sense of a warm, welcoming environment to work in. 

I started my first day in office with an Introduction to Curtins as a company; their values, mission, history, and the members of the Engineering teams. Next, I visited a completed project on which Curtins were the leading Civil & Structural as well as Geo-Environmental consultants (Municipal Building). It was extremely interesting to see how calculations and countless hours of design and refinement in the office translated into real-life structures, that most people overlook in their day-to-day lives. I then did further research into the case studies of this project as well as the India Buildings project.  

Tuesday began with an introduction to one of Curtins’ main specialisations – Structural Engineering. Engineers here use a mixture of CAE and hand calculations to solve any problem thrown at them. Following this, I went on a visit to another site, but one that had not undergone construction yet – The Henry Cotton building. I was given an informative and detailed explanation of the processes involved in the construction or renovation of a building, as well as the safety checks and inspections that must be done before undergoing design and then construction. In the afternoon, the team taught me the process of calculating loads and how they are transferred throughout a structure, which I then used to create a 3D model of the structure on Tekla, a modelling software commonly used by engineers. 

Wednesday shifted the focus of my work experience to the Marketing aspect of Curtins, which was equally intriguing. I was introduced to how the Curtins marketing team use social media strategy, logo design, and frequent posts to win contracts on upcoming projects and maintain good relationships with their clients. One of the biggest aspects of this is their focus on being warm but professional when communicating with clients and future employees alike. It was on this day that I would begin to write this blog, and I was given the opportunity to see how graphic design is used in marketing for an engineering consultancy. Next, I dove into the graphic design sector, where I used Adobe Illustrator and Adobe After Effects to create a GIF displaying Curtins’ values. Further into the afternoon I attended a Civils Insight Programme for university students hosted by Curtins, where I learned more about Civil Engineering and its applications in the world. 

My Civils and Infrastructure learning continued on Thursday, where I began by learning about SUDs and drainage, effects of climate change on the construction industry, and new technologies / solutions to combat them. I visited a site where these technologies had been implemented – Millers Quay and other sites part of the Wirral Waters project, where I saw Swales, permeable pavement and bioretention areas in action. This, similar to other site visits, gave me a deeper understanding of how design in an office translates to real life solutions. 

My final day of work experience was in the transport planning department. It was time spent well, and I was introduced to what transport planning is and how it fits into the construction timeline. I used a transport statement from a previous project to create one for another. This helped me better understand the processes and research involved in being a transport planner. I continued this work in the afternoon as well as completing the student workbook I was issued. 

Overall, I enjoyed my time spent at Curtins. I learned a lot about all the different departments and what they do, and I would recommend them to anyone who also wants to learn more about Civil and Structural engineering professions. 

We believe that even short-term experiences can make a big impact through the meaningful insights provided by workshops and activities. John was eager to get involved in all areas, and we hope we’ve helped shape his understanding of Curtins, the engineering industry, and the wide range of career paths that contribute to building a successful company.