Taiwo

Taiwo was directed towards our Pathways to Professional Careers Programme as she knew she wanted to pursue a career in either the construction and built environment sector, or mechanical engineering but wasn’t sure which pathway would best suit her.

Working with her Construction Youth Trust coach throughout the programme allowed her to explore different higher-level degree apprenticeship opportunities as an alternative to university. She also developed her confidence in talking to the industry professionals who supported the programme sessions she participated in.

Alongside participating in the Pathways to Professional Careers programme, Taiwo also took part in a Building Future Skills programme, something that she found really useful as she was able to develop her CV and attend mock interviews. As a result of this, she also secured a work experience placement with a construction company where she got to experience the inner workings of the company and discover more about the industry.

Taiwo also took it upon herself to explore a variety of career pathways, such as attending a biomedical summer school; however, she didn’t enjoy this as much as the experiences she’d had on our programme and in the construction and built environment sector. Through this combination of experiences, Taiwo decided that a higher-level degree apprenticeship was the right path to follow.  

After attending a Live Vacancy Day with Skanska, where she had the opportunity to learn about the organisation and hear former Construction Youth Trust alumni now working as apprentices speak, we are thrilled to announce that Taiwo has been offered a higher-level degree apprenticeship as a project engineer!

We wish her the best of luck on her journey!

“I came into year 12 knowing I wanted to do engineering but didn’t know which kind as there are so many different types. I was leaning towards mechanical and was told by my teacher about a CYT programme. I hadn’t really considered construction beforehand but was getting really interested in it through the experience I gained from the CYT programme.

I always imagined myself going to university and now I’m doing an apprenticeship in an industry I enjoy and am really excited about!” – Taiwo