What I do

I am a building services engineer for Knight Harwood, a main contractor who work with some of the most respected brands in the world. I am based in an office on-site in Covent Garden, London, working alongside senior building services engineers who are mentoring and supporting my development, on a 120,000 sq. ft refurbishment and extension project on four historic buildings. Currently, I work five days a week, with one day a week at university.

My typical day involves reviewing all the relevant documents, making sure the details are correct to enable the tasks on paper to be actioned on site. An example of what I do is finding old cables or old duct work which we need to strip out, so we can replace it. Most of my work is based around the infrastructure of a building and looking at how it is going to be used.

Hear more about Leteesha's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

I went from school to college not knowing what I wanted to do in my career. At college I studied French, maths, physics, drama and statistics. I then did an apprenticeship in Building Services Engineering - I chose it because I am better at numbers than I am at English.

I asked myself what sort of career I could go into with numbers, and I came up with engineering. I thought, "why not give it a try?". I have been in the industry for six years now, and I have noticed, even in that small time, there have been big changes.

When I did my apprenticeship, there was only myself and one other woman on the course. When I did my HNC, there were six women, and now there are much more on my university course, which is great to see.

My advice for someone coming into construction or engineering is, don’t let other people tell you that this isn’t for you. Try it for yourself, get the experience and see if you enjoy it.

You get to see behind the scenes before a building is unveiled to the public.

What I love most about my job

I love working with lots of people, all with different characters – and there are big characters! Knight Harwood has some incredible clients with unique and iconic projects. I was previously based at Battersea Power Station, which was an amazing place to work at. One of the most exciting parts of my job is using and observing the use of cutting-edge technology to create beautiful spaces.

A little more about
my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

There are four or five of us on any given day on the site team, including a project manager, a construction manager and an engineer. The best thing about working in a team is that you get to see things from a different perspective. I might look at something and not give it a second thought, but someone else might think, "That doesn't sound right to me". With varying experience, there is always someone who sees things differently, and I have learnt from that. Our engineering team consists of people with a wide range of experiences and ages - from those starting in their careers to senior engineers who have seen it all!

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

There is a residential project that I worked on at Canary Wharf, which was 49 storeys high! It was when I felt like I had really landed on my feet and was allowed to work on my own for the first time.

The next steps in my career journey

Knight Harwood have been very supportive in my training and development. I would like to step up into a more senior role in the future.

See Leteesha in the Technicians: We Make the Difference cinema advert...

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