Women in Construction – Tuesday 12th June @ 1.30pm

Kirstie Farmer runs the SDS-funded modern apprentice mentoring project. She has significant experience on publication writing and training on equalities and diversity issues. She has previously worked for Scottish Women’s Aid where she was responsible for national CEDAR network. She has a wealth of experience in monitoring and evaluating project work to prove impact.

Architecture and design have been Bethany Welsh’s obsessions since first-year at school. The classroom was never her favourite place but she loved technical subjects. She recalled: “I was always outdoors, doing stuff. I didn’t not like going to school, but when the last bell rang it was the best time of my day. I wanted to be out on the site designing, seeing projects being built, being part of that process.”

A graduate-level apprenticeship with Balfour Beatty in the north of Scotland ticked all the boxes. Bethany has worked on major infrastructure projects such as the Inveramsay Bridge outside Inverurie. As a contractor for the RAF, she has been on bases around the north of Scotland, as well as working on the nuclear plant at Caithness. She has also joined smaller projects including a local authority flood protection scheme. And she has run her own concrete-pouring operation – not an achievement on many 20-year-olds’ CVs.

There is classroom time involved, but it’s nothing like school. Bethany explained: “It’s much more interesting now. It’s something you want to learn because you’ve got the job and you can relate it to what you’re doing every day.”

Now in her fourth year with Balfour Beatty, Bethany is convinced she made the right career move. She said: “I will come out with the same qualification as someone who has been to university, but with years and years of experience, which is ultimately what employers are looking for. Once I have qualified I want to be a site engineer. I’ve thought about going into the design side of civil engineering, maybe when I’m older. But that site experience – that’s with me for life. I will remember that more than reading a book.”

Amanda is strategic thinker and leader, pragmatic and passionate management systems and business improvement practitioner with over 28 years experience in QHSSE and Engineering construction within the nuclear, offshore Oil & gas, petrochemicals, rail and construction sectors.  Amanda has extensive project management experience in the areas of heavy lift/marine engineering and project logistics and experience includes working on projects across the world including North & South America, Western and Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union, South East Asia, & Australia.

In recent years Amanda has gained experience in developing and implementing diversity, equality and inclusion strategies within several business sectors and organisations as well as presenting and public speaking on Transgender workplace inclusion.

Stephanie has a passion for sustainable construction, developed by participation in the UWC Atlantic College Sustainability Conference, where she led a workshop on sustainable construction attended by over 25 other students. Drawn to energy production and transportation, interests in these fields have been strengthened by insight experience with BP and summer internship with BEAR Scotland.

Stephanie is an active advocate for Women in STEM: current President and Founder of the University of Dundee Women in STEM Society as well as the current Equate Scotland Interconnect Student Champion for my university. Additionally, the Co-Founder and Vice-President of the Civil Engineering Society, one of two Workshop Leaders for the University of Dundee Centre for Entrepreneurship and an official University Student Blogger.