Highways deputy editor George Barker speaks to Maciej Kaczmarczyk, an apprentice at Kier and winner of this year's Apprentice of the Year Highways Award, about his experience joining the sector, some of the highs he's reached and some tricks of learning the trade.
What made you want to pursue an apprenticeship as the start to your career rather than higher education?
A big deciding factor for me picking an apprenticeship over university is that I would receive a degree with no student debt, get a salary while working towards my degree and I loved the prospect of getting years of hands-on experience working as a civil engineer in the industry.
How have you found working both for Kier and in the wider highways industry?
In college, I was given the opportunity to do work experience on the Northwest relief road in Northampton, which is currently being delivered by Balfour Beatty. I really enjoyed my time there learning about surveying, concrete testing, critical problem solving as an engineer and all the aspects behind building roads and bridges.
At Kier, I am getting great experience working on the North and West Northamptonshire maintenance contracts, learning about and undertaking bridge inspections, organising small repairs on bridges, investigation works for bridge assessments and managing my own repair project of a bridge.
What have been some of the highlights?
The biggest highlight of my experience is winning the Apprentice of the Year award at the Highways Awards. This has shown me that my effort and work have been recognised. Other highlights include getting the opportunity to manage my own bridge repair project from start to finish. This has given me so much knowledge and experience about problems during repairs, confidence and communication skills, project management and budget management skills; I love the critical thinking involved in managing a project.
I have also had the opportunity to be part of filming for a college that showcased my progression from college to an apprenticeship as a civil engineer. This will inspire future students to join the construction industry.
Have you encountered any challenges?
There were many challenges I encountered as a young apprentice, especially when I started. At the start, I was very shy and scared to talk to anyone on the phone. However, my team has supported me and my confidence has massively skyrocketed; I am grateful for all the support they have given me and encouragement to get out of my comfort zone.
Other challenges included resolving problems encountered while doing small works; for example, organising an emergency closure to keep the public safe and dealing with multiple members of the public to ensure all parties would be happy with the repairs. However, challenges are not negative; they are opportunities for learning and getting out of your comfort zone, so I take all challenges head-on.
What advice would you give someone looking to start an apprenticeship in this sector?
The best piece of advice I can give is to get out of your comfort zone at any opportunity you can, keep asking questions and take any challenges head-on. Don't be afraid of making mistakes; they help you to learn what to do if something doesn't go as planned.
What impact, if any, has winning the Apprentice of the Year Highways Award had on your career?
The biggest impact of winning the award is the recognition that comes from it, which has shown me that my hard work and effort have paid off. This is the first time in my life I have won an award for something, so it's something special, and I hope to win more in the future through hard work, effort and future thinking in the civil engineering industry.
