Brianne Asbury

What education route did you take from secondary school to where you are today? 

I joined Redrow in August 2013, just after I had finished my GCSEs. I was actively looking for jobs in the construction industry and my careers advisor at school explained that there was a possible opportunity here. Their criteria were that I had at least five ‘C’ grades in my GCSEs.

Now I’m part of the Design department, learning from my colleagues and from hands-on experience. 

Tell us a bit more about what you do. 

The department I work in is a mix between design and engineering. I’m currently training to be a designer, creating layouts for new housing estates to submit to planning councils. The technical co-ordinators deal with any issues on site along with any site applications that may come through, and the engineers deal with the ground and pipework, ensuring that foundations, ground levels and any services needed are put into place.

I never really have a ‘typical’ day because my job is so varied and I get to experience lots of different things. Some days I’ll be doing site visits, on others I’ll be doing layout designs or sitting with those in engineering jobs to learn more about their role. Some of my work includes completing a list of drawings that are required for a certain site so that an application can be put together, and completing work for other members of the department. 

What is your favourite thing about your job? 

I enjoy going out on site and seeing what’s going on outside of the office, as it helps me to understand more of how the aspect of design is translated and created on site. Learning about new jobs in the construction industry can be challenging at first, but once I’ve sat down with someone in that role and they’ve talked me through it, it becomes a lot clearer and I understand it a lot more.

What would you say to someone thinking about a career in construction? 

I really enjoyed the subject areas of art & design and mathematics and I was really interested in the construction environment, so the design aspect of the industry was a great fit for me. If you’re interested in these areas, then it’s definitely worth a look. 

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