Best Woman Interior Desinger
GEMMA EVERS Interior Designer - NPS Leeds part of NPS Group
When my Operations Director told me the company had nominated me for "best interior designer" in the WICE awards, I was thrilled that my skills, enthusiasm and hard work had been appreciated. Working for NPS Leeds, a public company carrying out work for both the public and private sectors, I get engrossed in projects, and am genuinely passionate about creating the best solutions for my Clients, society and the environment. Therefore, my reaction on hearing that I was a finalist was one of surprise and delight but also determination that I would fit the preparation for it around keeping to my deadlines and not letting my Clients down! What is great about construction is that you have a far-reaching and direct influence on the world around you. It is trulyrewarding to see a design become reality. The more preparation I put into the awards, the more excited I became about judging day and the chance to showcase my work and partake in the discussion on the day. Judging day exceeded my expectations. It was wonderful to hear so many inspirational women all with motivating, thought provoking stories to tell about careers in the construction industry. All these women demonstrated the knowledge, skills, competencies, training and experience they have used to break barriers to progress their careers. It has inspired me to re-evaluate my own priorities and given me the confidence to go for a promotion within my company where I am fully
supported in my ambition by my line manager. Winning "best interior designer" was a fantastic honour. I will use the win to encourage more female architects and designers into the industry by working with local universities to encourage young women to apply for vacant posts within construction companies. I plan to use my work designing school interiors to become a role model for girls, and hope this will encourage them to consider a career in construction or engineering. I work in an office that already supports flexible working hours, but I intend to push forward an even more flexible approach to working to encourage women into the industry. This approach is "win win" as it not only helps women, but also facilitates all employee’s careers within an organisation. If men can work flexibly, childcare responsibilities can be shared so women will no longer need to curtail their careers to look after their children and men will be able to be more involved in their children’s upbringing. The awards experience has been extremely enjoyable. It has helped me re-evaluate my approach to work life balance and become smarter in how I work. Standards will improve as more women are encouraged into the industry, as there will be a larger talent pool and a more diverse workforce. I will be encouraging my company to nominate next year, and already have some strong inspirational women in mind to put forward!
THE EUROPEAN WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING AWARDS >> MAY 2017
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