Gruffydd Rowlands is confident that the future of civil engineering is in safe hands after the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Wales Foundation Group marked a year in the role.
The Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK sub-agent is one of five young professionals volunteering to help shape the industry.
The quintet of employees from different civil engineering companies operating across the country are aiming to:
Having been in the role for 12 months, the team organised a summer event focused on creating a better environment for young professionals to thrive.
Jones Bros contracts director Hefin Lloyd-Davies and project managers Gareth Jones and Phil Chapman were part of the 130-strong attendees from a range of industries within the construction sector, with 83 per cent under 35 years of age.
The Foundation Group led interactive roundtable discussions around the following topics:
Gruffydd, who won the most promising trainee civil engineering graduate honour at the 2023 CECA Wales Awards, said: “It was great to mark a year of our group with such a special event.
“We’ve done a lot of work over the past 12 months in terms of setting up the various social media platforms and producing a recruitment video promoting career opportunities in the construction industry.
“The goal now is to produce educational resources for schools and colleges to use alongside their current curriculum to deliver the WJEC GCSE course in built environment.
“Given our experience as young professionals, it makes sense for us to offer our insight and assist with resources for delivering these courses.”
The summer event, held at St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay, also featured an inspiring talk from Philippa Tuttiett, an ex-rugby captain and co-founder of all-female construction company Female Builders and Interiors, impressive illustrations from Caroline Chapple, and music from Sarah Brown.
CECA Wales director Ed Evans said: “At CECA Wales we’re passionate about getting more young people into our industry and the Foundation Group are such fantastic ambassadors.
“Their summer event was a huge success with almost 150 young professionals sharing their thoughts on how to create the best environment for them to thrive in.
“The future of civil engineering looks to be in safe hands.”
Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.
The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.
The company runs an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which has produced nearly 40 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited hundreds of apprentices over the years.