Case Study: Graduate Engineer Kickstarts Career on the City Deal Renfrew Bridge
As part of community benefit requirements on Glasgow City Region City Deal projects, local young people are gaining valuable employment and training opportunities.
Eilidh Love (pictured) joined Graham Construction in September 2022 as a graduate site engineer on the City Deal-funded Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project. She joined the company after completing a Master’s in Civil Engineering at the University of Glasgow.
Now in a permanent position on the project, Eilidh said: “My graduate placement with Graham has been a fantastic opportunity, providing hands-on experience on a live project and preparing me for my current role as a site engineer.
“I really enjoy the variety of the job. The work is different every day, and I get the opportunity to work both on-site and in the office.”
Eilidh’s role involves site control and setting out, monitoring health and safety, tracking progress on-site, supporting subcontractors, and overseeing quality during installation works.
Looking ahead, Eilidh is working towards becoming a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), with Graham supporting her through training and mentorship.
Earlier this month, the UK and Scottish governments joined local leaders to mark ten years of the Glasgow City Region City Deal and to reflect on what has been achieved through the £1.13 billion of funding.
One of the largest and the most advanced in the UK, Glasgow’s Deal has delivered a range of high-profile projects such as Greenock Ocean Terminal, the bridge over the M8 at Sighthill and the Govan to Partick bridge – with the new Renfrew bridge set to open later this year.
Signed in 2014, Glasgow’s Deal provides £500 million each from the UK and Scottish governments for a range of infrastructure, employability and innovation projects with the eight local councils contributing a further £130 million.
Over the past ten years, the Region has undergone a period of epic transformation supported by the City Deal.
City Deal employability programmes have supported almost 14,000 people into work. The Tontine business accelerator has championed new SME start-ups in the heart of Glasgow and the Queen Elizabeth University hospital Imaging Centre of Excellence, a state-of the-art medical research facility, houses the first 7T MRI imagine system in a clinical setting. The Smart Canal, a first in Europe, is a pioneering new surface water drainage system which is helping to unlock 110 hectares across the north of Glasgow for new housing and commercial development.
