A trainee site manager who left behind a gangland culture, an apprentice plasterer who switched to QSing after an accident, a project manager once held back by dyslexia and a project manager who delivered her first scheme aged just 22 were among the outstanding young achievers honoured at an awards ceremony last week.
Yasar Ugur of Berkeley Homes, Nazma Uddin of Rise Management Consultants, and joint award winners Dyland Shankland of North Ayrshire Council and Luke Brooker of EC Harris were among the winners in the Duke of Gloucester’s Young Achievers Scheme.
The awards scheme, run by the Construction Youth Trust, recognises young people who have made an exceptional start to their careers despite challenging circumstances.
The finalists in each category are interviewed by a panel of senior industry figures to determine the winners, with Shankland also taking the title of “Winner of winners”.
Yasar Ugur won the Construction Delivery category
Yasar Ugur, the winner in the Construction Delivery category, fell into a gang culture while at college, but rebuilt his confidence with the help of an organisation called Street Elite.
Through the scheme he found an employment opportunity with Berkeley Homes, learning on the job and through courses his employer sends him on.
Judge Gareth Stapleton, from Rise Management Consulting, said: “Yasar … told us how he had started out in a gangland culture, how he had struggled through his education. He then demonstrated to us that the opportunities that he’d been given he’d seized with both hands.”
In the surveying category, Dylan Shankland, a shadow contract performance supervisor for North Ayrshire Council, is also studying quantity surveying at university. He started on this path after an accident meant he was unable to pursue his planned path to be a plasterer.
Luke Brooker (left) with Dylan Shankland were joint winners in the Surveying category
He is proud of being part of a door-step crime initiative that helps the police trace illegal contractors and he has helped on a community project to renovate a historical site.
Judge Simon Rawlinson of EC Harris said: “Dylan impressed the judges with his passion for his work and his commitment to his employer and his community. Dylan has faced many challenges in his career to date and is making real progress. His potential to influence work with his employer is an areas where he can make real impact.
He shared the Surveying category title with Luke Brooker, a project manager at EC Harris in London, who started to train as an apprentice electrician before a tutor suggested dyslexia screening. He subsequently completed his A-levels at college, then a building surveying degree at Kingston University, and then a masters. He is also an adult volunteer for the Air Cadet Organisation, working with young people to develop their leadership, management and life skills.
Simon Rawlinson of EC Harris said: “Luke has made rapid progress in his career and impressed the judges by the way he has used his insight from his work to maximise effectiveness. Luke has some great ideas about how the industry can engage with young people and is an excellent role model.”
Nazma Uddin won the Project Management category
Winner of the Project Management category was Nazma Uddin, now with Rise, who took on a major construction project when she had no prior site experience, and was subsequently offered a place on the Mace graduate management training programme – the only female graduate recruited that year.
She is currently managing a £22m apart-hotel project in London, and also is a member of the Conservation Area Design Review Panel for her local council.
Judge Terry Spraggett of Mace said she was a “a real revelation, smart, intelligent, presented beyond her years, professional, confident and above all likeable – the whole package”.
Sarah Habershon of Hawkins/Brown Architects won the Design and Architecture category, and Arup’s Yvonne Murphy won the Engineering category.
Sarah Habershon (above) won the Design and Architecture category, while Arup’s Yvonne Murphy won the Engineering category
