Career Pathways
Iain C Henderson, Executive Director
I left school and decided to take a "gap year" as didn't really know what I wanted to do. However, I quickly realised I needed money to enjoy the social side of life, so started working full-time in the Co-op stacking shelfs (top shelf due to my height). At the time, the career talk I got from my Dad revolved around getting a job in the Police, Banking, or Local Government – he recommended the Cops as I had big feet!
I was fortunate to know one of the Civil Engineers in the Water Board who advised me they were looking for a trainee which I was lucky to get picked for, this was on a block release basis at Inverness Tech, and on reflection suited my learning style, although I didn’t know that at the time.
Upon completing my Tech Exams, I pursued further engineering exams via the ICE and qualified as Eng AMICE. During that period, I gained a wealth of experience working on various Water and Waste Water Projects across the North of Scotland. The Water Industry was undergoing a lot of change due to a large investment programme, and I took the opportunity to join Tulloch Civil Engineering to head up their plans for expansion into the Water Industry.
In next to no time with a very good team, the business became a Tier 1 contractor for Scottish Water and I was appointed Managing Director – the business grew rapidly as did the team, and life was good. From here, the Global Infrastructure journey began with Alan Tolmie and David MacDonald, starting out as Mansfield Construction in 2009 with an initial turnover of £3m in our first year, reaching £40m this year, and with further growth projected in the years ahead.
Throughout my tenure as Director, my primary focus has always been on looking after the workforce to the best of my abilities, by securing work and providing employment in a safe place of work in which individuals are encouraged to develop at their own pace. The challenge has always been securing the right quantity and quality of work which is a daily task to ensure we miss the bear traps and find the pots of honey on the way.
The construction industry offers vast employment opportunities across numerous different roles, my advice would be to take time out for a free work placement to discover which role suits you best. The most rewarding aspects of our industry are the people you meet, the places you see, and the stories you hear. Personally, helping a relatively young team develop to become among the best in the field been immensely rewarding.
My last words of advice to young people are to work out what you enjoy doing, find a job that allows them to do that most of the time, get trained and work even harder to become the even better at it, keep productive and look at what’s next – most importantly of all, don’t give up, enjoy, and celebrate success!
