Sam is a Project Engineer in our Operations department and has been at Watkins for 7 years. Sam has made good progress over the years, having completed a HNC and HND in Building Services Engineering. He currently spends 2-3 days a week on site and is the rst point of contact for clients and site team to identify problems rst hand and work towards solutions. Sam appreciates the family feel whilst working for Watkins and enjoys that there’s never two days the same.
Even when working on one project you’re always doing something new each day to get to the same end goal of a high-quality product.
What department do you work in?
Operations
What is your job title?
Project Engineer
What do you do on a day to day basis?
As Project Engineers, we are responsible for the delivery of projects from post-tender to completion and handover, being involved with all aspects of the business one way or another throughout a scheme’s life cycle. Currently I look over 4 projects for various clients, ensuring they are completed on time, on budget and to a high standard, liaising directly with my site teams and the client’s project teams. I have recently begun training one of our new Trainee Project Engineers, teaching him how to undertake Watkins processes and helping improve his technical knowledge, whilst he spends one day each week studying at university. I hope to assist as best I can to allow him to be the best engineer he can be, and to become a great asset to the company.
How long have you been working for Watkins?
7 years
Have you risen up quickly through the business?
I joined the company straight from sixth form and made steady progress at rst as I adapted to the working world. Since then, my progress has improved as we have become busier and busier, now feeling condent enough in my ability to run multiple projects concurrently.
Did you have to do lots of training?
I spent 3 years in total part-time at college doing my 2 university qualications, which were a HNC and HND in Building Services Engineering. We have completed some in-house training tasks and there are opportunities to undertake additional courses to better our technical knowledge.
Do you get out on site a lot?
In general, I try to get out to our sites 1 or 2 days a week to track progress and keep in touch with both the builders and our site teams. Being on site also helps to identify any problems rst-hand and put in the processes to rectify them quickly.
What do you like best about working for Watkins?
Working with the people I do. Whether it be in the ofce, on site, or people from different suppliers or builders, the people I deal with on a daily basis make it thoroughly enjoyable. There is also a very family-like feel around the company. This is on a personal side as well as I work with my mother, albeit in different departments, but Watkins pride themselves very much on being a family-run company and that shows.
What is your favourite part of your job?
I would say problem solving and the fact no two days are the same. Even when working on one project you’re always doing something new each day to get to the same end goal of a high-quality product. It means you’re always on your toes with different things to do each day, so being bored or not having much to do isn’t really an option which I like.
What is next for your career?
I hope to progress as far as I can with Watkins as part of the operations team. I have quite a few aspirations and goals to work towards and I hope I can continue on an upward trajectory within the company.
