Louise Roberts-Burkinshaw, Environmental, Social and Governance Manager

When I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Architecture, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the construction industry. I was attracted to Heidelberg Materials’s graduate scheme as its rotational structure provides lots of opportunities to learn.

I’ve completed placements in different business lines including logistics, asphalt and IT and each provided me with insights into the business that I hadn’t seen or understood before. The range of experiences these rotations gave me was one of the best parts of the programme; from being on the M6 in the middle of the night in January observing resurfacing work to presenting a project to one of the divisional managing directors.

The opportunities and support I’ve received from Heidelberg Materials since starting the graduate programme in 2016 have been absolutely brilliant. From mentors, managers and other gradates, I’ve learnt so much about the business as a whole, as well as management techniques and styles, which has given me a good base for my role as distribution resource manager. 

The graduate face-to-face meetings also allowed us to meet and learn from speakers from around the business, who we were unlikely to meet otherwise, and the specific management courses related to the construction industry, such as Managing with Environmental Sustainability (IEMA) and Managing Safely (IOSH) are other examples of how well Heidelberg Materials sets you up for a career in the industry.

I would encourage anyone who wants a career in the industry to apply and explore and get as much as you can from the experience, especially women. We have a great opportunity to continue to change the profile of this business. The more women we have moving through our business gives more female role models for new graduates, Higher Apprentice apprentices and existing employees. With Heidelberg Materials making changes to encourage women to join and stay within our business, such as significant improvements to the maternity policy, and providing female fit PPE, now is a fantastic time to be a woman within Heidelberg Materials.