Working for BRE has provided me with the opportunity to get involved in some fascinating areas of work, all whilst expanding my knowledge, refining my skillset and kick-starting my career.
Before coming to BRE, I graduated from the University of Sheffield with a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. This set me up well for my first placement in BTG where I jumped straight in with conducting structural testing to UKAS test standards and writing technical reports. Following that, I spent 6 months in BREEAM with both the Communities and Strategic development teams. This provided a chance to get an insight into how BREEAM is operated on a day-to-day basis and how the complete update cycle is managed. My third placement was in the Sustainable Products team, where I spend time project managing sustainability certification work on construction materials and providing consultancy for several EU funded research projects. I have just started in the Fire Investigation team where I have been involved in setting up life-size fire experimentation, both to inform government policy and to answer legal questions surrounding real fires in the built environment.
Overall, the sheer variety of the work I have been involved in has been fascinating and the graduate scheme has offered a flavour of the range of services offered by a company with a diverse range of business activities!
