Work Experience at HWA

Hi, I am Ed from Toot Hill School and I enjoyed a week of work experience at HWA.

On the first day I got the opportunity to travel to Birmingham with Dan and have a look at a couple of the projects HWA are working on. It was a very interesting day out because I was able to go on the sites and view what had already been achieved as well as understand how the structures would be completed. It gave me a good insight into aspects of what HWA do.

On the second day I spent my time in the office learning about what goes on behind the scenes as well as working with Kate on how to improve the website.

On Wednesday I spent the morning learning how to use CAD. This software allowed me to have a go at designing infrastructures as well as get a solid understanding about what is necessary to achieve high quality buildings. In the afternoon, Richard and I went to examine a loft that had been recently improved to make sure it was safe and functioning. Later on we visited a building that had experienced large cracks in areas over summer due to drought. We had to take measurements to see if the cracks had changed in size. This was a great experience because it allowed me to see what HWA did in more depth.

By Thursday, I had a strong understanding of how HWA worked. I spent my day continuing to explore CAD in further detail as well as trying out some other software called Revit. This allowed me to design and construct 3D models of the infrastructures I had been working on. This was very enjoyable because once I got the hang of it, I was able to play around and create some more complex builds.

On Friday I had the opportunity to go and work with Jennie Holland PR who promote some of the projects HWA are involved in.  I was given some information about an event and had a go at writing a piece for a news article. In the afternoon we went to a book launch at Waterstone’s and I had a great time taking photographs that would be used in publicity about the event.

Overall, I had a really enjoyable time doing my Work Experience at HWA. Everyone was kind and helpful and I feel that the period I had there, not only helped me develop my knowledge of structural and civil engineering, but it also allowed me to get a feel for what it is like to work in a professional environment which will help me out in the future.