Skills Strategy Brings Excellent Career Opportunities

A ‘clear skills and training investment strategy’ is bearing fruit for Beverley, East Yorkshire-based Local Transport Projects (LTP).

Working closely with regional and northern universities, LTP has brought on board two new trainees as the company progresses its policy of providing genuine career opportunities for transport and traffic engineering professionals.

Sophie Lee, 21, from Hull, is currently on a one-year placement before she starts the third year of her undergraduate degree in geography from the University of Leeds, while Christopher Wilkinson, 22, from Durham, is finishing off a three-month internship after graduating this summer from the University of Hull with a first class BA (Hons) degree, also in geography.

Young, local transport planners now working with the company to have joined LTP from northern universities in recent years include: Jack Hearnshaw and Mike Raynor, both BA (Hons) geography from the University of Hull, Tom England, BA (Hons) in town planning from Newcastle University, and Ryan Dyson, BA (Hons) town planning from the University of Liverpool.

Tony Kirby, director Local Transport Projects, said:

“We have a very clear skills and training investment strategy that is bearing fruit through the continued expansion of our growing, UK-wide customer base, and as the business grows, we anticipate we will have more genuine career opportunities.

“We are very lucky to be able to resource such excellent young professional graduates while allowing them to develop their skills and professional capabilities here at LTP.”

Ms Lee, who joined LTP in July and has so far worked on more than 25 projects, said: “I’ve been exposed to a diverse range of office and on-site work, giving me workplace experience that is impossible to replicate in an educational environment, and which will prove invaluable when returning to university to complete my degree.

“While this responsibility and independence has allowed me to develop my project management and organisational skills, I have always felt able to approach any of my colleagues, including the company directors, for support and advice at any point.”

Mr Wilkinson started his internship in November, gaining experience producing AutoCAD drawings, and working on travel plans, transport assessments and road safety audits.

“The internship is the best thing I could have done,” he said. “The work has been exciting, challenging and rewarding, broadening and enhancing my technical and analytical skills thanks to the excellent support and professional training provided by the team at LTP.”

Established in 2004, LTP is one of the UK’s leading independent transport practices, providing transport planning, traffic engineering and highway design services to local government, developers, health providers and the education sector.

The company, which recently took up new, prestigious office space in Beverley’s Flemingate centre, supports a staff commitment to professional development and integrity, demonstrated through membership and active involvement with professional institutions.

These include: the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE), The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT); the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Royal Town Planning Institute and The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation (CILT). LTP director Tony Kirby is currently president of the IHE.

Recent local projects which LTP has worked on include: the transport assessment, highway design and work place travel plan for RB’s new £105m research and development centre of excellence in Hull; highway design for Wykeland’s £120m Flemingate retail, residential, leisure and office facilities in Beverley and a highways assessment and travel plan for the University of Hull’s new campus redevelopment.