Meet Victoria Greenwell, Contracts Manager at Seymour!
Victoria is a Contracts Manager with demonstrated experience working in the Civil Engineering industry for over 14 years. She is skilled in Highways, Water Treatment, Cost, Programme and Project Management, Civil Engineering and Surveying. Victoria recently returned to Team Seymour after pursuing her aspirations of becoming a Contracts Manager at Homes England, after seeing the Contracts Manager position come available at Seymour, she knew it was time to return and develop those previously establish relationships.
We asked Victoria a few questions about her experiences in the industry:
What led you to pursue a career in the construction industry?
“My dad had shared ownership in Greenwells Construction, and I was brought up around sites and the construction industry. I initially started a degree in Sports Science and played semi-professional football for Sunderland ladies but later switched degrees to complete a Construction Management Honours Degree. My first role was a trainee Site engineer for Byzak for approx. 4 years before I became qualified then I was employed full time as a Site Engineer, since then I have progresses gaining valuable knowledge along the way and I have never looked back. I love working in the construction and civil engineering industry.”
What is the biggest challenge of being a woman working in construction?
“Stereotypes, firstly because I am not as old as most people in my type of role, I feel like I sometimes I must prove why I am in the position I am; I don’t let this affect me because I have vast amount of knowledge and can demonstrate why I deserve to be in my position. Secondly because I am a woman, it’s not as strange to see women in construction now but 10 years ago it was very unusual to have a woman working in construction. Despite that I do find that women who are working in construction have often had to prove themselves more and end up being more hardworking and knowledgeable because of that.”
Do you get tired of the stigma surrounding women in construction?
“No, there is stigma surrounding women in all aspects of life you can either let it affect you or ignore it and just get on with things, if you are doing the job, you have been asked to do then the stigma (if any) will quickly dissolve.”
What advice would you give to someone interested in working in construction?
“It’s a great industry to work in, specifically being involved in projects from design stages through to completion. The learning is continuous, nobody knows everything and there are always people willing to help if you need it. It’s certainly not an easy industry to be in, the hours can be long, and the pressure can be high so you must be able to manage yourself effectively.”
