Alistair Thompson, director of major projects, VolkerFitzpatrick Limited

NAME Alistair Thompson, CEng, MICE, MIHT
JOB Director of major projects and senior supervising engineer
EMPLOYER VolkerFitzpatrick Limited
QUALIFICATIONS HND civil engineering, BSc civil engineering, Kingston University

Choosing my career

My father was an architect, and when I was young I visited sites with him to carry out site surveys and spent time at his office sketching designs. From this, I found I was interested in the practical application of design and so chose a career in civil engineering. I studied at Kingston Polytechnic, as it was then, initially on a HND and then a BSc degree course, graduating in 1983. These were ‘thin sandwich’ courses, where I did six months of work experience each year. These allowed me to establish that working for a contractor was right for me.

’Technical ability is important for engineers but so is good communication. Delivering projects depends on this skill.’

Lesson learned: Show enthusiasm and commitment to your new job, whether it’s work experience or a permanent role, and ‘go the extra mile’. This will stand you in good stead with current and future employers.

Starting out

My first job was with a former incarnation of my current company as a site engineer in their civil engineering division. The work experience I had gained allowed me to make an effective contribution straight away and I also joined the company’s ICE-accredited training scheme.

Over the next four years, I progressed from site engineer to site agent and was fortunate to experience a wide range of projects and take on more responsibility. To gain the experience I needed to pass my professional review, I also spent a year seconded to a design consultant. I became chartered in 1988.

Lesson learned: Take up every opportunity, ask those around you questions and never make the same mistake twice!

Moving on

In 1990 I left to work at another construction company as a contracts manager in their major project division. This involved establishing an operation in southern England for the business – I recruited staff, won work and oversaw the delivery of projects. This took the management skills I’d learned on site to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, the company was a victim of the last recession and I spent a short period with a national fencing subcontractor before re-joining Fitzpatrick as a project manager on a £36 million road tunnel project in London. This was a particularly challenging project threading a twin bore top-down road tunnel under a railway and busy road junction, while maintaining traffic flow on the North Circular Road.

Lesson learned: Technical ability for engineers is important, but so is communicating well at all levels and in the media. People management and delivering projects successfully depends on this skill.

Making it as a director

When the London project was completed in 1998, I was appointed contracts manager for London and, in 2000, I was made the regional director of London and the West. My main role was to establish and run a regional office in High Wycombe.

In 2006 I was appointed major projects director, with responsibility for delivering major civil engineering contracts across the UK. The highlight so far has been successfully delivering the Ashford and Ramsgate rail depots for the Integrated Kent Franchise – a project worth £98 million. It’s important to multitask: I’m currently overseeing the negotiations for two projects (a highways one and an energy-from-waste power plant), as well as managing tenders for a wide variety of other projects.

A civil and structural engineering career can encompass a lot more than construction projects. Since 1994, I’ve been responsible for our company’s graduate engineering training scheme. This has grown from having two or three engineers under training to 45. I am also a reviewer for the ICE professional reviews and it’s great to help and encourage new engineers’ development.

Lesson learned: You are constantly learning in this job: moving into the waste sector has involved learning a whole load of new jargon. Working in a recession means that civil engineers have to be more commercially astute than ever before. We need to be able to argue the case for investment in technology and infrastructure. It’s also important that we continue to train and develop our staff as this is what will sustain the construction industry into recovery.