LSST Elephant & Castle Business Students Discover Careers Building London’s Future

🔊 Male Voice 🔊 Female Voice

.

VolkerFitzpatrick gave LSST Elephant & Castle Business students a first-hand look at the breadth of opportunity across one of Britain’s most important industries.

When most people think about construction, they picture a building site: engineers, machinery, hard hats and high-visibility jackets. But the modern construction industry is considerably bigger than that.

That was the message for LSST Elephant & Castle Business students when Hayley Simpson, Social Value and Stakeholder Manager, at VolkerFitzpatrick visited our Elephant & Castle campus to explore the breadth of careers available across the sector – from engineering and technical roles to payroll, advertising and social media.

VolkerFitzpatrick is one of the UK’s leading engineering and construction companies, with more than 100 years of history and expertise spanning rail and transport infrastructure, buildings, highways, airports, energy and defence. It employs more than 1,000 people and is part of VolkerWessels UK, a major multidisciplinary construction group.

The session challenged a familiar assumption that construction is a career with one obvious entry point. In reality, it is an industry where a number of disciplines converge, creating opportunities for LSST graduates to build careers around the skills they already have – while continuing to develop them through further study.

“Industry engagement works best when students can see a direct connection between what they are learning and the world they want to enter,” said Charlie Tennant, Vice Principal at LSST. “Sessions like this open that door. They allow students to hear directly from professionals, challenge their assumptions and start thinking seriously about where their skills could take them.”

Building London’s future

Students were also introduced to some of the current major infrastructure projects delivered by VolkerFitzpatrick.

One example was the Barking Riverside extension, delivered in partnership with Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure for Transport for London (TfL). The £196 million project extended the London Overground by 4.5 kilometres and included a new station and 1.5-kilometre viaduct, helping connect one of East London’s fastest-growing communities to the wider transport network.

The project insight also gave LSST students a clearer sense of just how many different people are involved in making major infrastructure happen. Engineers and construction specialists are only part of the picture; project managers, planners, finance and commercial teams and communications professionals all play their part.

VolkerFitzpatrick is also involved in the next generation of London’s transport infrastructure, supporting London’s Piccadilly line upgrade through work on plans for new maintenance facilities at Cockfosters Depot.

“Construction is not simply about putting buildings and infrastructure in place,” said Eniana Gobuzi, Associate Dean at LSST Elephant & Castle. “It is about people, ideas, planning, technology and collaboration. Our students have skills that can contribute to that wider ecosystem, often in ways they may not initially recognise.”

 

   

Beyond the Hard Hat

The session also reinforced an important message for LSST students considering their next step: a career does not always follow the route you initially imagine.

“Students do not always know the full range of careers available to them until they meet people working in those industries,” said Alessandro Rizzo, Regional Careers and Employability Officer, who coordinated the event. “Our job is to help turn that curiosity into action – whether that means understanding the skills employers are looking for, exploring further study or identifying the next practical step towards a career.”

LSST has been expanding its engagement with the construction sector, including its Construction Training Centre at LSST Wembley and recently received £500,000 Greater London Authority (GLA) funding for construction skills and employment pathways across London.

Find out more

Discover VolkerFitzpatrick’s career opportunities: https://www.volkerfitzpatrick.co.uk/en/working-for-us

Hear from Adriana Sanchez, a business student at LSST Elephant & Castle, on how LSST helped her confidence and marketing skills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCRzq4pKrFU

For further details or media inquiries, contact LSST’s Public Relations Manager via kunal.mehta@lsst.ac.

Enjoyed reading LSST News? Discover your path and explore opportunities across our academic community at www.lsst.ac/courses or via admissions@lsst.ac. Think Further. Think Higher. Think LSST.

.