Gail McEwen

"Gail is a Site Engineer for a company that builds infrastructure, energy and earthworks projects.Gail is a self-reliant, fair-minded and empathetic individual which are traits suited to her role in management where she balances working both on her own and within a multi-disciplinary team. It is no surprise that Gail fits well with the ‘Manager’ personality type. Much of Gail’s work involves surveying on construction sites, managing health and safety, designing drainage, roads and earthwork models – all emphasising her fit with the ‘Coordinator’ and ‘Quality Controller’ personality type. "

"Gail works for a civil engineering company that builds infrastructure projects, energy and earthworks, as well as landfill and reclamation.As a site engineer, Gail will be working on a particular project and has a range of jobs that she engages in daily. She may be surveying the site, calculating cut/fill volumes for earthworks, managing health and safety, forecasting and budgeting so the project stays in budget, programming site activities, ordering materials and monitoring usage and wastage. In addition to this, Gail is responsible for organising meetings with contractors. Gail is always in communication with the multi-disciplinary team she works in, including senior managers, training junior engineers and junior managers. Gail works all over the UK and once fully qualified will have opportunity to work worldwide.As an apprentice, Gail’s starting salary was £15,000."

"Gail has always been very determined to work in the construction sector as she is passionate about women working in the industry. These motivations helped her decide the route she took. Gail worked as a plant operator in Australia and was inspired by another female engineer she met there.During school Gail specialised in maths and the sciences before enrolling on an Advanced Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering. Gail opted to study part time while working for her current employer – a good way to learn, gain experience and be paid to do so. Gail also has a Eng-tech MICE certification, which shows she is qualified as an engineering technician. If Gail could offer advice about her journey to get to where she is it would be to take Maths, a Science, English and Technical studies. "

"Outside of her job, Gail engages in lots of physical activities including walking, skiing, swimming and going to the gym. She also loves playing the guitar in her spare time.In the future, Gail aspires to be a Site Manager within the next year. Following this, she would like to progress to become a Contracts Manager before eventually becoming a Director. She would also like to be in a position to recruit engineers and be a role model for others looking to work in the industry.Gail was amazed when she won the CECA Scotland most promising technician’s award – she was invited to speak at the Scottish Parliament cross party committee about women in construction where she addressed MP’s about the day to day life of working in construction as a female engineer. "