Rebecca Paramor’s and Sharad Kerai’s triumph as the Emerging Professional and Apprentice of the Year respectively may have been a surprise for both, but they also share a common goal: to achieve chartership.

Their awards – presented by CIHT President Karen McShane – was recognition for years of hard work, and demonstrated the impact that young people are making on the industry.

“This event highlights the importance of future professionals and the vital role they play not just in CIHT but in coming up with the solutions to the challenges we face in sector and across society as a whole,” said McShane at the presentation.

We caught up with Rebecca and Sharad shortly after their achievements were made public.

How did it feel to hear your names read out? 

Rebecca (Site Engineer at Morgan Sindall): I was actually quite shocked to be honest. I didn’t think the interview went as well as I’d hoped, but the presentation went well. So, I was quite shocked, especially as the other candidates were really strong.

Sharad (Civil Engineering Degree Apprentice at Mott MacDonald): I was a bit surprised. Didn’t believe it was me. But when it was announced, I just froze for a second before I went up. It was a really, really proud moment.

Main image: Rebecca Paramor receives the award from Karen McShane; credit: CIHT

What are you working on at the moment?

Rebecca: The project I’m working on is in Kennington, Oxford. When that gets [off] the ground, I’ll move up there. It’s a part of the Kennington improvements programme. The part that I’m working on is demolishing one of the bridges and then rebuilding it. So, we build it offline and then launch it.

Inline image: Sharad Kerai receives the award from Karen McShane; credit: CIHT

What do apprentices give to the industry?

Sharad: Apprentices come in with a fresh mind, because we’ve come straight out of school. We don’t have that prior experience of being in university, and the things that they teach [there]. It gives companies an opportunity to mould us into really good engineers.

Was there a moment of inspiration that made you think transport and engineering could be the career for you?

Rebecca: The lady who [was the structural engineer behind] The Shard got me interested in construction and infrastructure. I could see that she was the face of that building, so I wanted to be involved in structures. It was when I read about her in a magazine. If you can’t see it, then you can’t be it. Her name is Roma Agrawal.

Sharad: Engineering was always something I thought of going in to. I’ve been surrounded by construction for most of my life. My granddad worked in the sector. LEGO was one of my favourite things as a child. From there it was Hot Wheels and even building a track got me interested in [engineering].

How do you hope that your careers will develop? 

Rebecca: I hope in the next few years to get chartered. That’s the next aim for me. And then going forward, just continuing being a big advocate for getting more young people in, as well as having a more diverse workforce.

Sharad: I’ve just finishing my first year. So, I’ve got four more years of university. And then after that, I need to sit my endpoint assessment, and hopefully go on to get incorporated status. After that, I want to go for chartership. I’ve already set out my career goals in the medium- to long-term.

Transport Professional will be publishing the full interview from 24th May. See all the past issues.