How did you get started in the industry?

I started with Property Services Agency, then part of the UK Government, working on defence projects and went into marketing and comms as the organisation approached privatisation. 

Biggest professional achievement:

Becoming the first female MD at SELECT in its 125-year history – and I hope there are many more still to come. In my previous role, leading work on the Construction Accord, a strategic agreement between the sector and Scottish Government and the subsequent Transformation Plan which seeks to tackle the longstanding issues in our sector.

Best advice you received:

Be happy, be humble, be kind.

What do you like most about your job?

The people.

And the least?

The paperwork.

What would you most like to change in housing/construction?

It’s a long list, but at SELECT our focus is on achieving legal protection of the title “electrician”. At the moment, anyone can call themselves an electrician and complete safety-critical work in homes, schools and hospitals without any qualifications at all. That is unsafe and it needs to change.

Using a SELECT member company, through our website, guarantees your electrician is a fully qualified professional. Scotland has an opportunity to lead the rest of the UK and legislate for protection of the title of electrician. 

I am pleased to say perceptions are changing and trades are beginning to command the respect as a career path that they have long deserved. In electrotechnical, we have a long track record of training world class operatives and we would love to do more. People who train as electricians generally stay in the trade, earning whilst learning and then working in or running successful businesses for their entire careers.

Greater support from the Scottish Government to fund our apprenticeships and make them work for employers, particularly SMEs, as well as apprentices. 

We need a healthy, highly skilled construction sector to drive up sustainable economic growth in Scotland for the benefit of everyone.

Which newsletters/ bulletins do you receive?

Too many to mention (but naturally our own cabletalk is the best!)

How would you change Scottish Construction Now?

Don’t change a thing.

Do you read a daily newspaper?

Sadly not any more, I follow Reuters and AP for news.

Which social media sites do you use and which do you find the most useful?

Mainly LinkedIn and YouTube these days since X changed hands. 

Hobbies and interests:

I love to cook and eat, so to offset the impacts of that, I have to go to the gym, aquafit and wild swimming.

Favourite holiday destination:

The next one!

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