A coffee with... Robyn and Jude for National Careers Week
Article posted on: 06 March 2023
It’s National Careers Week, a key fixture in the academic calendar when schools take time to focus on careers education.
The week is aimed at developing awareness and excitement of future pathways and supporting young people to make informed choices about their next steps. To inform and inspire young people to consider a career in engineering we caught up with members of team Clancy. Read on to find out about their careers to date and what advice they’d give to young people at the start of their career journey.
Robyn Clancy was one of our very first apprentices when she joined our Manchester office 10 years ago. She’s now an experienced Electrical Engineer with a master’s in Building Services Engineering, her role involves producing drawings, performing calculations, and writing specifications for the electrical services. Robyn has been involved with the electrical design of a wide variety of building types throughout her career.
Jude Palfreyman recently started his apprenticeship. He joined our Birmingham office in September last year as a Building Services Technician Trainee. His role consists of using computer aided design programs like AutoCAD to create and design mechanical and electrical applications and specifications.
Jude - Why did you choose a career in engineering and what led you to do an apprenticeship?
I was always interested in getting into a career in engineering as I had previously done work experience in an engineering role when I was in school. It’s a very wide and open career where the work is constantly different and changing, which means it’s always interesting.
From there I knew I wanted to start in an engineering role and the best way of doing this was through an apprenticeship. You gain a lot of knowledge whilst in the office and being surrounded by experienced engineers, and you achieve the qualifications while studying at college.
I’d say to any student considering a career in engineering, that an apprenticeship is definitely the way to go.
Robyn - What advice would you offer to someone considering starting an apprenticeship or just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Jude - What project have you enjoyed working on recently, and why?
I have enjoyed working on the Edgbaston Police Station project. I’ve been doing cable calculations for lighting and sockets. I found this enjoyable as I could work out the required power needed for each appliance.
Robyn - What’s been your biggest project highlight whilst working at Clancy, and also the biggest challenge you’ve come across?
Ingleby Barwick Leisure Facility in Stockton was probably both the biggest highlight and challenge. It was my first Stage 4 Revit job. I had to learn how to navigate new software whilst designing at the same time. It was challenging but I learnt a lot from this project, both technically and with Revit.
Jude - What's it like working at Clancy?
Clancy is a great place to work. Every member of the team is friendly and willing to help, and we always have interesting projects to work on.
Robyn - Finish this sentence ‘The most satisfying part of my job is…’
There’s always something new to learn.
To find out more about a career with Clancy and to view our current vacancies, take a look at our careers page.