As we celebrate women shaping the built environment through their technical and engineering skills, we’re excited to welcome Pip White who has recently joined Focus as a Quantity Surveyor.

Having spent her career to date on the construction side, Pip has now stepped into a client-facing role — bringing to bear her site knowledge, commercial insight and a strong practical understanding of how projects are delivered.

Pip shares her thoughts on working in the construction industry as a woman:

“When I started my journey into construction, I was one of only two women in a university cohort of 60+ studying Quantity Surveying. At the time, I felt like this was a sign of what was to come—but thankfully, it wasn’t. Since graduating, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside many talented, driven women in all roles across both contractor and client teams and seen them thrive and hold their own in the still very male-dominated industry. There is still work to be done, but even in the short time I have been a part of the sector, I can see an encouraging change in mindset as more and more women join the team.

Pip will be applying her skills on a diverse range of projects including Lewisham Hospital, Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, and St Osyth Priory supporting our clients in balancing cost, time and quality throughout the whole project lifecycle.

With a background in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management Pip began her career as a trainee in 2021. She now looks forward to completing her chartership with RICS and continuing her professional development across all aspects of the industry and on heritage projects.

As well as celebrating the contributions of women across engineering and construction we’re also taking this opportunity to celebrate the diverse career pathways available within the built environment. For those of you who may be wondering if a career in the construction industry is the path for you read on to discover some of Pip’s highlights below:

“No two projects are the same, they all propose different challenges and opportunities to grow. I have met managers in their 50^th year in the industry who are still waiting on their “perfect project” where everything runs smoothly and under budget, you may get close, but you will always be richer for it.

Construction is one of the most multi-generational industries and I love this as everyone has something to learn and bring to the table. It’s not unusual to see apprentices/ graduates working with professionals with decades of experience but both are learning from the other. Joining the industry, I had the most up to date knowledge of the industry regulations and quite adept with excel shortcuts but also could teach the meaning of ‘spenny’ and who Paul Mescal is. I have also had a great cultural enrichment about who the Mods and Rockers were and how to identify them.

This is just my personal experience, however, the construction industry is huge and diverse in terms of people and projects with so many roles and career paths available. Whether you are hands-on, creative, business savvy or analytical, there is a role for you, you just need to get stuck in.”

As a multi-disciplinary company working across multiple sectors, Focus are well placed to offer varied and rewarding roles within Surveying, Project Management, Economic Research, Business Planning and Sustainability. To discover our full range of services and specialisms visit: https://www.focus-consultants.com/services/