Queens of Castle Street: Hull scheme in line for national award for inspiring females

An ambitious scheme transforming Hull city centre is in the running for a national award for encouraging generations of women and girls to follow their dreams and gain careers in the engineering, manufacturing and construction industries. 

The A63 Castle Street scheme has been shortlisted for the Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering Awards 2022 for excellence in outreach. 

The ambitious £355m project, delivered by National Highways in partnership with Balfour Beatty, has been recognised for its work with schools to encourage more females to take up a role in engineering. 

Frances Oliver, National Highways Project Manager for the A63 Castle Street scheme, said:  

“National Highways and Balfour Beatty have worked together to not only transform the city centre but also people’s futures by showing women and girls the opportunities they have in this sector. 

“I, like my colleagues, am very passionate about showing females that there’s a variety of jobs for them in engineering and construction and that they can achieve anything they want to. We’re proud that our work is being recognised in these awards.”  

Michaela Maunders, Balfour Beatty Customer Lead said: 

“We’re delighted to have been nominated for this year’s Inspiring Women into Manufacturing and Engineering Awards - a much deserved achievement, recognising our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. 

“On the A63 in particular, we continue to go above and beyond to bring to life the plethora of exciting careers available across the construction and infrastructure industry, collaborating with our industry partners, colleges and universities through events such as Women into Manufacturing and Engineering (WiME).” 

Frances recently joined Balfour Beatty to speak to women and girls at WiME, a special event led by Green Port Hull, a collaboration between Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Associated British Ports. 

Throughout the scheme, National Highways and Balfour Beatty have worked together to create a lasting “local first” legacy, helping charities, businesses, suppliers, schools and colleges throughout the life of the scheme. The project is engaging with young people on employment and skills activities, promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as a career.   

The project team has engaged with over 12,000 students in the last 12 months and delivered STEM based activities to schools, colleges and the University of Hull, including a full day of activities for 45 students from a local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities school.  

About the awards 

The Construction and Engineering Awards 2022 celebrates the role models and organisations empowering women in construction and engineering. 

Construction News and New Civil Engineer are joining forces to champion the role of women in construction and engineering across a programme of activity this year. Building on the previous NCE Recognising Women in Engineering Awards and CN Inspiring Women in Construction, the two publications will now work together to provide networking opportunities and learning resources to help women progress their careers and celebrate organisations that are great places to work. 

Across seven categories, the awards recognise the women and teams who stand out as exceptional. The categories are designed to showcase both individual and organisation wide initiatives. 

Winners are to be announced at their final conference and evening awards on 6 October 2022.