Originally from the Ukraine, Nataliia moved to the UK, settling in London, Lambeth in 2020 and joined the WiC Equip West London programme supported by West London College in May 2021, looking for an opportunity within construction, with a keen interest to explore roles within construction to find her suitable career path. Nataliia’s working career background is in Marketing (production) and she also has a master’s degree in Economics – Engeneering . Nataliia was confident in her own abilities and knew that she had what it takes to enter the construction industry.

Nataliia needed to gain a better understanding of the construction industry and pathways to them, and the programme helped Nataliia explore various roles and routes into the industry. Nataliia couldn’t explore Apprenticeship roles due to her residency status which limited her avenues of job opportunities but herself confidence helped with this challenge.

WiC enrolled Nataliia onto West London College, at Southall Centre on a joint WiC & WLC Employment Programme for a 2 week Level 1 WorkSkills Award Level 1 Health & Safety along with CITB CSCS Training, which she had successfully passed all elements.

WiC & WLC hosted a successful Speed Interview event involving 7 Construction Contractors attending virtually, interviewing 13 women who attended WLC in person for work experience opportunities on Live construction sites. After the selection process, Nataliia was matched with Mace for a 2-week work experience placement at the Brent Cross Station Project.

Nataliia secured a Project Management work experience at the Brent Cross development with Mace, and she hit the ground running and delved into the role in great detail. Finishing her placement with an impressive presentation explaining the importance of Sustainability to the whole Mace team at Brent Cross – which she had volunteered to do as a part of her own personal career development.

Talking about her work experience, Nataliia commented, “It was useful to see in practice, what I have learnt before only in theory, for example, risk assessment and site induction, to name a few. Attending site and experiencing how it actually feels to be on a construction site, was a very positive in-site. I gained a better understanding of project management and work in construction. It was a nice welcoming atmosphere and feeling that there are a lot of people willing to share their experience”.

Ian McLeod, Senior Project Manager & WEX Supervisor, added,  “Nataliia has been incredibly helpful during her short time on the project, picking up some key tasks to support the wider team. All tasks were completed diligently, accurately, and quickly. Nataliia was extremely proactive and very keen to take on additional tasks. Furthermore, her presentation to the whole team on sustainability was delivered confidently and with passion. Overall, it has been a real pleasure working with Nataliia and I would not hesitate to recommend her for a role. She will be an asset to her future employer.”

With the level of skills and determination that Nataliia had demonstrated, Mace was keen to see where they could place Nataliia in their team.  After a very successful interview, Nataliia was appointed the position of Assistant Commercial Manager.

For details on current Women into Construction programmes, visit our programmes page.