Essex Highways helping to inspire the next generation

Essex Highways staff recently visited three Essex schools in support of a new programme designed to introduce young people to career opportunities in construction, engineering and infrastructure.

Building a Lasting Legacy is a new initiative spearheaded by Morgan Sindall Construction and Essex County Council.

The five-year programme was recently launched with a series of events at The Sandon School, The Boswells School and Hylands School, where more than 110 year 9 pupils were introduced to the sector and set the challenge of working in small groups to design a sustainable building.

Essex Highways has signed up to support the initiative and six staff from across our environment, transport planning and highways design teams volunteered their time to attend the schools, share their expertise and support the pupils in tackling the challenge.

Among the volunteers was Jenny Jones, a former pupil at The Boswells School who first started working on the Essex Highways framework as a graduate transport planner 24 years ago. Jenny has gone on to have a very successful career and is now Head of Transport Planning at Jacobs, overseeing a team of 450 people working on projects and contracts across the UK and Ireland, including work with Essex Highways.

Jenny said: "It was wonderful to visit my old school and work with so many talented and naturally curious students, some of whom without doubt showed themselves to be engineers of the future.

“I particularly enjoyed seeing some of the girls, who had never considered this as a career path, leaving the day enthused and with new perspectives on what they can do and achieve."

Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “Building a Lasting Legacy is a fantastic initiative that will open doors for many young people in Essex and we are excited to be involved.

“Students who may never have considered a career in construction now have the chance to explore the industry and gain valuable skills for their future. It was great to see Jacobs and Ringway Jacobs support the programme by sending volunteers to help facilitate the activity days in the schools.”

Essex Highways is a collaboration between Essex County Council and Ringway Jacobs, along with its shareholders Jacobs and Eurovia.