Highways England project manager awarded with top accolade
A rising star who is constructing a successful career after flying through Highways England鈥檚 Project Management graduate programme has been rewarded with one of the highest accolades in her field.
Emma Simpson, originally from Doncaster, in Yorkshire, scooped the Young Professional of the Year Award at the Association of Project Management 2020 Awards (APM) thanks to her incredible work on many road improvement schemes across Lancashire, Cheshire and her home county.
Emma applied to join Highways England鈥檚 three-year graduate programme in 2017 after studying Business and Economics at University of Northumbria and has since been promoted to an assistant project manager role based in Manchester, a job in which she鈥檚 thriving.
Emma, aged 25, who found out she won via a virtual awards ceremony earlier this month (November), said:
Being recognised by my peers is an incredible feeling and receiving this award is something I鈥檒l forever appreciate.
The Highways England Graduate Programme gave me a wealth of opportunities, several chances to move around the business in different placements, amazing support from my managers and an industry recognised qualification. All of which provided me the skills to be recognised with an APM award at this early stage of my career.
Jon Stokes, Senior Project Manager at Highways England, added:
We are incredibly proud of Emma and what鈥檚 she鈥檚 achieved. Approaching everything with high professionalism, building constructive relationships with a variety of stakeholders and her colleagues, Emma has successfully delivered her own scheme and is now deputising for the lead Project Manager on a nationally significant infrastructure project.
Emma鈥檚 experience is a fantastic example of what the Highway England Graduate Programme can provide, offering work across a variety of roles, such as; project management, cyber security, data analysis and many more 鈥� all helping to keep people safe, connect businesses and improve community life around our roads.
Recruitment for Highways England鈥檚 2021 graduate intake has recently closed with hundreds of applications submitted in recent weeks. However, applications for apprenticeships within the company which manages, operates and maintains England鈥檚 motorways and major A-roads, are now open.
Earlier this year, Highways England unveiled 拢27 billion roads鈥痠nvestment plans for our strategic road network which will help support 64,000 construction industry jobs. From finance and operations to communications and engineering, the company has a variety of apprentice opportunities available to help build a network for the future and get careers off to a flying start.
Find out about opportunities via the .
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