Olivia Millward

"I feel the personality types are a good match to myself! Coach - good at working with a wide range of people is really important within a Project Manager role due to dealing with lots of different people, including those within and outside your organisation and with very different personality types themselves. Also, a good listener and problem solver. I think being a Project Manager is all about problem solving! Whenever there are issues you need to be able to work through them and think of solutions that are possible to be achieved and think of the impacts and benefits of each. Innovator - again can solve problems creatively, this is certainly necessary for some of the problems faced on site! Also, influence, good at leading people and confident. You really have to have confidence in yourself when in a role such as a Project Manager as you do have to make decisions and ensure that they are followed through and the team have bought into them/ Manager - motivated, adaptable, team orientated and good organiser really struck with me as I feel like they are all key qualities needed within a lot of roles not just mine! They are all transferrable skills which can be built on in all different situations, inside and outside of work! "

"I have been on the graduate scheme for 18 months at Manchester Airport - working on the extension to Terminal 2 and other items included in the Manchester Transformation Programme. My most recent role has been Assistant Project Manager on Pier 2 which is a bussing facility at the airport. Within my role I have assisted the Project Manager working under the NEC3 Contract. There has been continuous stakeholder engagement throughout my role which includes leading reviews with other teams working at the airport such as looking at the boarding desks, room data report (these detail everything in each room such as plug sockets!) and doors including functionality which is very important at the airport. One of the things I enjoy the most is visiting the construction site and seeing the progress made week on week! It is really an amazing feeling to feel like you are part of a project and the success of it also. I lead site tours for stakeholders within MAG to ensure they were also familiar with the new facility. I was also lead Project Manager on a new VIP lounge within Pier 2 which meant dealing with the Ground Handling Agent, working through design and approval of the design with reviews and also completing site visits for tendering Contractors. Starting salary for my graduate role at MAG was £26,000. "

"I left school with 11 GCSE's and went straight to college to study Maths, Physics and Biology. During college I really didn't know what I wanted to study at university - I just knew I enjoyed maths and physics and wanted to apply the knowledge. I looked at studying Maths and Physics however, I didn't think this was right for me. I then looked into engineering - I had never even heard of studying engineering before I came across it searching for hours! I looked at all the types of engineering and I was always fascinated with buildings - for example the Empire State Building in New York! From this I decided to apply for Civil Engineering. Throughout my first 3 years (BEng) this was Civil and Structural Engineering with a broad range of modules covered. I completed the 4 year degree to get a First Class MEng Civil Engineering. Between my third and fourth year I obtained a summer placement at AECOM. AECOM are a consultancy that provide services throughout the project life cycle including design and engineering. My placement was within the Bridges team. I completed bridge inspection reports and read drawings to produce information databases for a project. This was really useful as it highlighted my preference to be on site rather than working in a design office straight from university. "

"During my second year I also brought my daughter into the world - this made my third and fourth years rather interesting and definitely made me work on my organisation and time management skills! So in my spare time I spend a lot of my time running around after a 3 year old and visiting farms and parks which definitely keeps me busy!"

"When I get to work I normally respond to any emails I have - then work through my To-Do list and see if anything else needs adding to the list. The day is usually filled with quite a few meetings - whether that be meetings I am leading or supporting to those where I am there for information only. At least twice a week I like to visit site - so I get all my PPE on and head out on site. I take pictures of most of my site visits so I can track progress throughout the project and so I have the pictures to look back on when the project is complete. Pier 2 is a bussing facility providing 10 departure gates, an arrivals route, VIP lounge and 3 levels of connection to the new Terminal 2 Extension so it is great to see progress and think of the all the passengers that will travel through the terminal and a facility I have been a part of. "

"A level Maths A*A level Biology CA level Physics BMEng Civil Engineering First Class Honours"