We caught up with Sarah Leggett - an Undergraduate of the Year Award winner from 2013!

Sarah Leggett M.Eng Hons
Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year winner 2013

A little about me

Travel experiences and a love of Art ignited my interest in Engineering and building design. Graduating as a Master of Engineering with Honours from The University of Sheffield, I have a driven desire to continue to achieve at the highest level. Aside from my university studies, as a Grade 8 singer (ABRSM) I enjoyed performing in the University's Singers' Society. Prior to university, I achieved my Gold and Silver Art Award, Trinity College London ‘09-’10 and taught at a French primary school Jun‘09.

Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year 2013

After winning the Laing O’Rourke award I embraced the opportunity of an internship in Western Australia on Remote Infrastructure Projects and acted as an integral member of the Digital Engineering Team on the Wheatstone LNG Project: Civil Works ISBL and OSBL. Additionally I attained an insight into the complex logistical challenges associated with remote mining and resources infrastructure; Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert Port B Project; a materials handling facility in Karratha; and BHP Billiton Iron Ore Railway Line at Port Headland.

Overall through my summer placement with Laing O’Rourke, I felt that I achieved a huge personnel development, that I grew in confidence in my own ability and that I contributed value to my employer. I made some great friends with whom I have remained in contact. As a result of working alongside such inspiring and talented individuals I was better equipped to embark on my final year individual project at University.  My summer placement at the Laing O’Rourke Perth Office reinforced my passion for engineering and project delivery. This event marks a milestone in my personal and professional development as it opened my eyes to a range of opportunities and sparked an interest to pursue a career in the construction side of engineering. I greatly appreciated the mentoring I received from Mike Idoine, Lead BIM Engineer, and Caroline Crook, Senior Project Engineer. I would like to thank Tim Kelly, Project Director and the Wheatstone Team for such a rewarding overseas work experience.

My role and what I do 

My current role involves working with the Laing O’Rourke Group Technical Services as a Graduate Engineer. With hard work and preparation, I aspire to embrace all opportunities which come my way. I am currently getting involved with improving the way in which knowledge is managed within the Group Technical Services Team, in order that the lessons learnt from each project can be shared within the business more effectively.  One of my roles on the Graduate Development Programme is to achieve personal development and chartership with the ICE, whilst offering support to my colleagues within the Graduate Development Programme 2014 Cohort.

Working with the team

When describing what working with the team at Laing O’Rourke means to me, it is the welcoming atmosphere in the workplace and on-site, together with the encouragement and support from colleagues, which is what initially comes to mind. The excitement of working within the Laing O’Rourke team means that you are part of a greater vehicle for change within the construction industry. It is the sense of belonging to your team, and that your contribution great or small is valued by those around you which makes working for Laing O’Rourke rewarding.

To exemplify this, I would like to think back to how I felt after my two month placement in Perth. In all, I felt an integral member of the Wheatstone Team. From visits to remote Laing O’Rourke sites in the Pilbara, I felt the sense of being part of a community despite being geographically isolated. The team spirit and drive to achieve collective goals which I experienced with Laing O’Rourke Australia, I noticed to be reflected in the UK business through visiting the Explore Manufacturing Facility with the IStructE and at various Laing O’Rourke Sites and Offices during assessment centres for the Graduate Programme.

It is the exciting opportunity to be part of a collaborative, ambitious team, where all aspects of the business are driven to improve the face of construction, which is the reason for which I wanted to be part of the Laing O’Rourke team after graduation.

A day in the life

Currently every day offers a new challenge. As the Group Technical Services work for all aspects of the business, with involvement during tenders, while a project is live at site or post construction, there are continually new challenges and opportunities to investigate more efficient and effective methods of work and best practice.

Sarah is the 4th Construction, Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award winner to join Laing O'Rourke. Following in the footsteps of Krzysztof Sieledczyk in 2010, Maria Canellas in 2011, and Oliver Brookes in 2013. You can read about Brittany Harris, the 2014 winner on her blog here.

Could you be the 2015 Construction, Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award winner?

The competition closes on the 4 Feb, click here to enter now!

Winner of the Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award 2014, talks us through her first few weeks on her placement at Laing O'Rourke : PART 1

During my application for the Undergraduate of the Year Awards I was fortunate enough to secure a placement working with Arup in their Hong Kong offices. I hadn’t assumed I would win the Awards, so wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to work abroad over the summer. Luckily when Laing O’Rouke announced me as their winner of the Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award they were very accommodating and both companies allowed me to shorten both placements so I could fit them both in!

I have loved working in Hong Kong. It is a huge change of pace to working in the UK with long working days and a lot of responsibility. I have been designing foundation for and LNG power station in the Philippians; this requires complex dynamic analysis and consideration of minimal differential settlement across the site.  

Aside from work I have made some great friends both in Arup and Laing O’Rourke. Laing O’Rourke has a hiking team and we go out twice a week which is a great way to get to know people and see Hong Kong. I have also managed to fit in lots of sightseeing on my weekends, but I still have plenty more to do.

It has not all been plain sailing. Visas have caused considerable strife and the 8 hour time difference makes it nearly impossible to contact people at home. Jet lag and the weather is a lot to get used to, and the inevitable Asian stomach bugs have caught me out once. But all this pales in the rush of the city.

Before beginning my placement with Laing O’Rourke I was very excited to be on site, but also a little apprehensive as I had been warned about working in over 40^oC heat. The experience ends in mid-September, so watch this space for an update on how it went.

Brittany Harris, Civil Engineering, University of Bristol

Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award winner

Think this could be you for 2015? Apply to the awards here: undergraduateoftheyear.com/construction

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello and welcome to this week’s graduate recruitment news roundup. Here we summarise what we have been covering on our site this week.  

As always I will start with next week's internship and graduate job deadlines:

Summer and graduate internships and placements to apply for now, with application deadlines coming up next week - apply here.

There are graduate job deadlines coming up fast in a range of career areas here on targetjobs.co.uk, from financial services and insurance to engineering, IT and sales. Click here to apply now!

As I mentioned last week we have a job opportunity available here at TARGETjobs, the deadline is on the 27 June 2014. 

Here is a reminder of the role in question

Job opportunity

Now, do you like what we do? Do you also have a passion for events? Then apply to be an Event Promotions Executive and join our team here at TARGETjobs!

As an Event Promotions Executive, you will

• Develop your communication skills
• Gain hiring and management experience
• Be responsible for planning and executing your own event attendance
• Demonstrate you can exceed targets
• Learn from a hands-on marketing team
• Get you own company car!

If this sounds interesting to you then why not apply now! We currently have four opportunities available so don't miss out on working for a fun, inspiring and prestigious company.

On to our latest career advice articles..

With so many graduates now on the market, employers will look for evidence of skills and work experience which will make you stand out from the crowd. Have a read of our article 'Top 10 skills that'll get you a job when you graduate'  we have also created a video which you may be interested in watching, the video highlights the skills you need and how to showcase those skills.

Internships are a crucial stepping-stone to graduate schemes. Have a read of our article to get application tips, find out about industrial placements and browse through the opportunities we have a available.

Whether you fancy yourself the next Robert Fisk reporting on world - changing issues or you're more of a Tyler Shields poised to photograph the stars, everyone has to start somewhere. It's best to be thinking about it while you're at university, so kick-start your fledgling media career by taking a peek at some of TARGETjobs media, journalism and publishing guides to getting a foot in the door. Have a read of our articles on this topic below: 

'Entry - level routes into journalism and writing for the web'

'Entry-level routes into photography'

'Entry-level routes into editorial'

Clifford Chance won the 2014 Graduate Employer of the Year Award at the TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment awards in April. In our article 'Four tips for getting a training contract of vac scheme with Clifford Chance' we explain why the firm were recognised at the Awards and how keeping this information in mind can help you get a training contract with this global giant of a law firm.

Did you know that there are only three ways to get a placement or work experience with Laing O’Rourke? Get sponsored through university by the company, apply to the Institution of Civil Engineers’ QUEST scheme – or win the TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year competition. If you're interested in hearing more why not read our article 'How to WIN a summer placement with Laing O'Rourke'.

Are you interested in a career in forensic accounting? Well I have some great news for you, 20 new graduate positions will be available in September 2014 on EY’s new specialised trainee scheme – fraud investigations and disputes. It’s exciting news for those with an interest in forensic accounting. Read more on the topic here and find out how to apply.

That's all from me this week! 

Best of luck with any applications that you make this week.

Have a great weekend.

Roxanne