Popular early careers initiative returns to share vital project skills and know-how

The RSK Early Careers Programme has returned for a second time to equip early careers colleagues from RSK Environment with skills and knowledge that will help their professional development and enable them to support clients on projects across the country.

The purpose of the early careers programme

The nine-month programme, which was launched in 2024, was devised and is led by RSK Environment Technical Director Rachael Riley. She said: “The project was created as a response to the significant number of early careers colleagues RSK Environment had recruited in a short space of time. We wanted to ensure they could meet client needs and opportunities and see the reality of what it’s like working on a live construction project as part of a multidisciplinary civil engineering or construction team.

“With so much potential work supporting our clients, it’s fantastic that the programme is running again. It’s also great to see more of the team becoming proficient and confident in site work.

“All the businesses and colleagues that supported the project when it first rolled out were keen to do the same again. We’ve even had participants from last time get involved: some who had missed sessions and others who wanted to deepen their understanding of certain topics.”

Graduate environmental consultant shares programme insights

Graduate Environmental Consultant Melissa Kane wanted to take part in the programme to gain as much knowledge as she could as quickly as she could. She said: “The work we do at RSK Environment is very specific and, as a new graduate, sometimes you don’t realise just how specific your role will be, so gaining that knowledge through training is essential.

Classroom and site-based environmental training

Training National Vocational Qualification Assessor Darren Richardson from RSK Group business CR Civil Engineering has first-hand experience of dealing with health and safety issues, having been a coal miner and firefighter for over thirty years. With a passion to keep people safe, Darren was keen to get involved with the project for a second time.

He said: “Working with Rachael, we delivered a course that showed how construction and environmental disciplines could work together for positive outcomes, a kind of ‘winning the hearts and minds’ of construction managers and site staff alike.

“To achieve this, we had to get colleagues ready for site. We ran classroom sessions where participants developed their knowledge of site terminology and carried out construction and environmental walkabouts with items labelled around the site. They were asked to note any legislative or environmental issues that may result if left unchallenged and if there were any major safety breaches. They were also given familiarisation training about common plant, equipment and construction activities.

“The time spent at CR Civils also involved a safety demonstration and a session on fire awareness. It’s my hope that it gave colleagues a great foundation: knowledge that they will never forget and that will keep them safe on construction sites in the future.”

Senior Ecological Consultant Sam Spickett ran sessions on behalf of RSK Biocensus. Like CR Civils, this was the second time the business has supported the programme. Held at Cransley Sailing Club in Northamptonshire (RSK is a partner with the club in a community interest company, and the club is available to RSK as a training and meeting venue), sessions focused on ecology, protected species and the relevant legislation associated with them. In addition, a desktop exercise and site visit that mirrored a development scenario was held.

Sam said: “Ecology by ‘nature’ is broad, but when we were planning what we wanted to cover, it was important that we introduced not only common themes but also the types of issues that early environmental careers professionals are commonly going to be faced with.

“Hopefully participants left with a deeper understanding of ecology, protected species and legislation and how these interface with their work. Our door is always open should they have any questions or concerns or require any site-specific advice.”

Creating opportunities to build confidence and network

The programme has built Environmental Consultant Eleanor Lee’s confidence, as well as expanded her network. She said: “As the programme is a combination of both online and in-person sessions, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know other early careers colleagues from across the group.

“The flexible nature of the programme has meant that it has been easy to fit sessions around my job too. In addition, if you do miss one, there is always the opportunity to take part again in the future.

“I found the ecology awareness site visit at Cranley Sailing Club particularly valuable. We spent some time learning from a couple of RSK Biocensus ecologists and completed a walkover of the site to spot different flora and fauna. It really allowed me to put my learning into practice.”

The future of the programme

Rachael said considered discussions about the future of the programme will take place in the spring, with the team looking at the possibility of expanding it to include other businesses across the group.
She added: “One great benefit and outcome of this programme is that it’s an opportunity for our early careers colleagues to network with each other. It would be great to develop that further in the future.”