Working in engineering can be an eye-opening and exciting career.

At AECOM, over one thousand graduates in the UK and Ireland alone have joined their Graduate Development Programme (GDP), to learn from the best in the business, to develop their technical skills and work towards professional accreditation. The programme includes residential training events, support towards chartership, technical development, secondments, continued professional development and an online pool of over 5,000 on-demand courses, allowing graduates to determine when and how they develop new skills and knowledge to grow their career.

Where women work is celebrating some of AECOM's women engineers and learning how their early career is progressing, and what they enjoy most about working at AECOM.

Charlotte enjoys the advancement opportunities at AECOM

Amazing is having the space and time to learn

Charlotte Jeffrey is a Graduate Mechanical Engineer in AECOM's Cambridge Building Services team. She graduated with an MEng in Architectural Engineering at Heriot‑Watt University. “My role is to design heating, cooling and ventilation systems for buildings. I’m constantly given the opportunity to develop my career through both training and on-the-job experience - I’ve already worked on several projects since I joined, including residential and hospital projects. I also take part in mechanical team learning meetings where I can always ask for specific training or information. As a graduate I feel trusted to get on with my work and to ask for help whenever I need to.”

Doing more with less

In a world of finite resources, AECOM’s building engineering team is committed to delivering sustainable solutions, whether for a tall building, airport terminal or shopping mall. Optimising the performance of buildings is key to their work. Building engineering involves building services and public health, building physics, structures, acoustics, fire, process and automation, information technology, communications and sustainability.

Recent low energy projects include 7 Air Street, London - the UK’s most sustainable historic building - and the University of Nottingham’s new GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, which has achieved both LEED Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding ratings, raising the benchmark in sustainable lab design.

Laura thrives with the mentorship program

Amazing is having mentors who guide and challenge 

Laura Bilton is a Graduate Consultant in AECOM's Water team in Leeds. She gained a BSc in Geography at Northumbria University. “All of my colleagues at AECOM are like mentors to me. Everyone is approachable and ready to help — no matter how many questions I ask. We have a Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) mentor in our office, who helps me keep on top of my chartership requirements, while my line manager helps me identify my key strengths and opportunities to get involved in different aspects of projects and the wider business.”

Thinking differently about water

For AECOM, water is key to creating healthier communities and more beautiful places. They are making both of these a reality; whether delivering flood risk projects that enhance the natural environment, to developing energy-efficient treatment processes and smart water networks. Managing the water cycle across whole catchments, their scope includes water and wastewater treatment, water infrastructure and flood and coastal erosion risk management. They are helping deliver some of the UK’s major water projects including the Thames Tideway Tunnel -  the largest water infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK -  to the Swindale Valley restoration scheme in Cumbria.

Georgina challenges herself for a relocation to Dubai

Amazing is relocating from London to Dubai halfway through graduate training

Georgina Bishop is a Quantity Surveyor in AECOMs Dubai Cost Consultancy team. She studied Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management at Oxford Brookes University. “I’d always wanted to work abroad and was ready for a new challenge when I was given the chance to relocate to AECOM’s Dubai office. I hadn't expected such a great opportunity so early in my career. I’ve gained so much experience, working on some fantastic projects so far. I’ve learnt a lot from integrating into a new culture too. The first few weeks were the most challenging because I didn't know anyone but AECOM has been really supportive. I wonder where I’ll go next?”

Adding value

AECOM’s programme, cost and consultancy experts serve private and public sector clients all over the world. They focus on reducing risk from projects, improving value and assuring outcomes. Practice areas range from building surveying, cost management and financial and economic consulting through to design management, project management, health and safety consulting and fiscal incentives. Some of their recent projects include cost managing the latest extension to London’s Victoria & Albert museum and project and cost managing the delivery of Student Castle, a 55-storey tower in Manchester and new build in Brighton.

Roisin enjoys the work-life balance offered by AECOM

Amazing is having the freedom to balance work, holidays and social activities

Roisin McGrane is a Graduate Town Planner in AECOM's Belfast Design, Planning and Economics (DPE) team. She graduated with a BSc in Geography before gaining her MSc in Planning and Development both at Queen’s University Belfast. “There are lots of benefits of working at AECOM  - from being able to buy more holidays and private health insurance to being part of a really sociable office. It means it’s easy to achieve a great work-life balance, and feel a sense of wellbeing, which helps keep me motivated, healthy and happy — it really is a place I enjoy coming to everyday.”

Creating places to enjoy

AECOM's DPE practice line comprises landscape architecture, town planning, environmental and ecological planning, economics, master planning, workplace interior design and strategy consulting, sustainability and urban design. Whether working on a large corporate landscape or a small urban park they consider each site’s physical surroundings, client needs, financial mechanisms, long-term community effects, implementation and maintenance. Flagship projects include the 2012 London Olympic Park, Dreamland in Margate and the Chelsea Football Club at Stamford Bridge. 

Isabelle enjoys meeting great people at AECOM

Amazing is all the friends met since starting at AECOM

Isabelle de Garston is a Graduate Landscape Architect in AECOM's Manchester Architecture team. She gained a BA in Landscape Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture. “A real plus of being part of a big company is that you get to meet so many great people. From my first day at AECOM I met other graduates just like me. I’ve also made friends with colleagues who work at different levels across the business who I’ve met through the company’s sports and social group where we take part in fun group activities like go-karting.”

Shaping the world around us

AECOM's architecture team delivers projects that seek a balance between art and technology, form and function, beauty and purpose. Their building and interior designers and landscape architects deliver high-rise buildings that form city skylines, transportation, educational and healthcare facilities and community-wide design schemes. They designed the Rio 2016 Olympic Park venues and are delivering high quality strategies from an integrated digital design platform, including for Al Wakrah, the first stadium on site for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They’re also working on mixed-use developments that facilitate new ways of living and working. 

Teni works on important projects during summer placement

Amazing is feeling a step closer to becoming an AECOM graduate civil engineer

Teni Akinajo completed her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Coventry University and is about to start a Masters degree. “I found out about AECOM’s summer placement through Sponsors for Educational Opportunity. During my eight weeks with the rail team in Croydon I helped solve problems on real projects, even developing construction plans for an urban scheme that will ensure the project doesn't disrupt one of London’s busiest Underground stations. I learnt about the daily tasks of a civil engineer and that at AECOM, it is about more than doing just calculations. Teamwork is so important and you receive so much support. I felt like my ideas were heard and valued. It was such a rewarding experience and I hope to take up a graduate opportunity at AECOM in 2019.”

AECOM takes on around 200 summer and industrial placement students a year. Follow these three easy steps to kick-start your rewarding career.

• Online registration - There is a short online registration to enter your details and to demonstrate your suitability for the practice area(s) you select. 
• Situational judgement test - The online, engaging and interactive assessment, bespoke to AECOM and designed with their graduates, helps them assess how you would react in scenarios likely at AECOM. Just as importantly it helps you decide whether AECOM is right for you.
• Final stage assessment -  If successfully shortlisted for final stage, you will be invited for a technical assessment or full assessment day with the team you are being considered for.

Apply for exciting positions via AECOM's careers pages searching on ‘placements’. 
 

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