Ian Ball

How have your technical skills developed throughout your apprenticeship?

My appreciation of the BIM revolution has gone from nothing, to being able to explain the benefits we can tap into with digital engineering systems. The apprenticeship has taught me so much about the built environment. The college course also gives a flavour of many aspects of engineering, from complex analysis, data capture and setting out, to graphical presentation and the planning process. The area I feel I have been challenged on the most is sustainability. Often I would ask for projects to be more sustainable, but when asked how, or to justify that it will make a positive difference, I fell short. Learning of Biodiversity Net Gain and searching for products that provide proven sustainable options has been enjoyable.

How have you grown personally through doing an apprenticeship?

When I started the apprenticeship, I felt a bit out of place being at college with people who were at school with my children and who held a very different idea of how important the course is – that took some getting used to. My previous role was full of short tasks, I had a long to do list, but I moved through it quickly. Moving to this role where work tasks can be weeks long, the lack of obvious progress felt quite negative and I felt that I wasn’t doing my job. My team leader helped me by explaining that progress is often not linear, and by breaking tasks into smaller sections to help me see progress being made.

What advice would you offer to someone who’s unsure if an apprenticeship is right for them?

The benefits of an apprenticeship are vast as you’re learning on two fronts at the same time – from colleagues and at college. There might also be other apprentices in the business doing the same course, slightly ahead of you and further along the education process as well. Everyone is happy to help, so your support network is never going to be bigger. The Level 3 apprenticeship provides a wide base of knowledge, so you can move between areas of engineering easily, and it allows you time to focus your interests based on real work rather than making a decision now and having to stick with it for years to come.

How does SYSTRA stand out as a great place to work?

SYSTRA is very welcoming and really gets you involved. The UK and Ireland business is full of opportunities, and the global business has even more diverse projects underway, all working to improve transport functions for the society they serve. As a railway fan, both for the movement of goods and people, I am really pleased to be working in this industry.

What’s your favourite thing about your job right now?

I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of engineering and knowing the positive impact our work can have.

Diversity is powerful. What unique perspective do you offer as an apprentice?

I like to think that I bring enthusiasm for the challenges we face. As you go through life you see poorly designed infrastructure and sometimes it feels like you have no way of improving it. Moving to a Civil Engineering team later in life, I’m now in a position where I see designs and can question them – often I am asking questions which have already been answered, but I am learning, and my team are really supportive in answering my questions and showing why we have chosen certain design solutions.

What would an entirely green future look like? How should our industry contribute?

For there to be a fully green future we will need to have more data and clear choices based on full lifecycle values. As a digital engineering apprentice, I can see the technology available now that allows us to reduce our design process climate impact. The industry as a whole needs to look to this digital revolution as a proving ground for designs. To this end, a fully modelled network built on accurate data would be the goal, and it doesn’t feel far away.

You can spend your lunchbreak with anyone you admire – who would you choose?

I’d like to pick the brain of Arthur Gemmel. His book Underground Adventures written with Jack Myers fascinated me as a child – his meticulous approach to cave surveying pushed the benchmark for accuracy and clarity in presenting a 3D system in a 2D format. I’d ask him what he thinks of our approach in doing the same task 80 years later.

What is your next big career goal?

I am working towards Engineering Technician Membership of the ICE.

What excites you about your career future?

A small part of me is excited about being able to sign passport applications as a professional engineer! In terms of where work may take me, I look forward to working in railway drainage design. It’s a fascinating challenge which always ends up so much more complex than the simple task of collecting, transporting and removing water.