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BUILD THE FUTURE – Sophie engineers a future with Degree Apprenticeship

09/02/2021

“I always knew that the traditional university route wasn’t for me and that I wanted to focus on building a career as soon as I finished my A Levels.”

Sophie Cutler, 21 from Newport in Shropshire, has started her career in the construction industry with a Degree Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton.

Sophie is an Apprentice Civil Engineer working for Balfour Beatty VINCI which is using Apprenticeship Levy funding to upskill employees.

Although Sophie was being pushed in the direction of going to university after she completed her A Levels, she knew that she wanted to focus on a career and an Apprenticeship was the perfect solution.

Interested in being hands-on and with an ambition to work outdoors, Sophie followed in her dad’s footsteps and applied to be a Civil Engineer with Balfour Beatty, a leading international infrastructure group. She is now working on the HS2 project, one of the most demanding and exciting transport projects in Europe which is building a new high-speed railway.

Sophie started her Apprenticeship in 2018 and is now in the third year of the five-year course where she attends University once a week.

Sophie said: “Studying and working full-time takes some time to get used to, especially in terms of time-management skills and as the degree has progressed it’s become more complex and my responsibilities at work have also increased.

“A lot of the learning is background detail for me at the moment – I don’t really use the more technical information, especially being more focused on the delivery side of the project as opposed to the design.  Although certain modules aren’t relevant at this point in my career, having the understanding of broad aspects of Civil Engineering will offer me many opportunities in the future.   

“My ambition is to become a highly respected and trusted Civil Engineer and the Degree Apprenticeship will provide an academic base for me pursue professional qualifications with the Institution of Civil Engineers– a solid foundation for me to continue to build my career in the future.”

Find out more about how Degree Apprenticeships can benefit you or your business: www.wlv.ac.uk/naw2021

 

 

 

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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