Victoria Wallbank

What was your background when you joined us? 

After completing my undergraduate, I completed a post graduate diploma in Construction Project Management and to gain more experience in the energy industry I successfully applied for a job with a small scale wind turbine installation company. I found that I really enjoyed the M&E side of the job, but there was no room for me to progress in this area within the company. I started to look for further opportunities and that was when I saw Vital's Graduate Scheme advertised on LinkedIn and I suppose the rest is history.

Can you talk us through what you were doing initially? 

Initially I spent a few months assisting in the closeout of a couple of projects. I used this time as an opportunity to gain as much knowledge as I could regarding Vital’s documentation systems and ask everybody as many questions as possible about the installations, giving myself a crash course in M&E.  Vital also put me forward to do a number of training courses including my SMSTS, CSCS and First Aid which was a great confidence builder, as well as an educational boost so early on in my employment.

What are you doing now?

I am a Project Engineer in the Projects North team.  I am currently closing out a project which I have been working on for the last 16 months.  Shortly I will be moving on to the new extension of the University of Edinburgh, where I will be assisting with a couple of plant rooms on the DH scheme which I am looking forward to as it will bring a lot more new and interesting challenges to me.

How would you say you’ve grown/What have you learned since starting at Vital?

I have learnt sooooooo much at Vital and would say I have definitely seen myself grow as a person and a professional during my employment.  I had no previous experience of Mechanical and Engineering when I joined Vital but can now comfortably find my way around a plant room and have a great understanding of Vitals own Heat Interface Units and VPro units.  I have also significantly developed my project management skills through great mentorship from the projects north management team, in particular my Project Manager.

How do you feel about the opportunities to progress at Vital?  (Do you think you could be a board member 20 years from now for example?) 

I feel I have already achieved a lot being one of the first female project engineers at Vital, so I would like to believe there is definitely opportunity for me to work my way up the ladder and who knows, be Vitals first female director.  I would would hope to see myself as a senior project manager overseeing one of Vital’s ever expanding large scale projects, so that I could use my knowledge and skill to deliver jobs to the highest standard, whilst still being involved in daily site activities and being able to provide mentorship to others as it has been given to me.

Can you talk me through the support you’ve had while you’ve been here? 

I have had so much support from people in almost every department of the company it’s hard to think where to start.  Although Vital is a fast growing company spread across the UK, it has a very friendly and supportive working environment.  Everyone is always only a phone call away and willing to help if they can, all you need do is ask and if they can’t help they will always know someone who can.

What would you say your biggest achievement to date is? 

Managing over 40 operatives to complete over 500 heating installations at has been one the most mentally and physically challenging things I have ever done.

What would you say to someone who’s considering applying to Vital through the Graduate Scheme?

Do it! Grab the opportunity with both hands and run with it, I promise you will never look back.  Vital understands it is a fast growing company that needs to invest and nurture its new staff as they want them to be the leaders of tomorrow’s industry.