TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Career path
find your way. That’s certainly been true for me.” After discovering her eyesight wasn’t good enough for her dream career of military flying, she thought, “If I can’t fly planes, I’ll fix them.”
Theory vs practical experience
It was this mindset that led her into engineering, becoming the only girl in a class of 20 engineers, and doing well in her
I went to university, despite my Grandad insisting I should do an apprenticeship if I wanted to be a ‘real’ engineer. Looking back, I think my Grandad was right – I loved the hands- on problem solving and technical work. Uni gave me the theory, but I missed the practical side…
Christine Thomas, Assistant Major Capital Development manager at Hywel Dda UHB
Get in touch
WWW.IHEEM.ORG.UK
E:
office@iheem.org.uk T: 023 9282 3186
November 2025 Health Estate Journal 17
studies. From there, she recalls, “I went to university, despite my Grandad insisting I should do an apprenticeship if I wanted to be a ‘real’ engineer. Looking back, I think he was right – I loved the hands-on problem solving and technical work. Uni gave me the theory, but I missed the practical side.” Today, she uses those skills daily in her role at Hywel Dda UHB, working across operational hospitals. “I’m a bit of a chameleon – translating technical jargon for nursing teams, and domestic teams, and vice versa. That ability to adapt and communicate is just as important as the engineering itself.” Her advice to any student unsure of their
path? “It’s okay not to get it right first time. Just keep daring to discover – you never know where it might lead.” The full pieces drafted by Matthew and Christine as well as many more inspirational engineers will be featured within the TE Week school resource and highlighted on the Tomorrow’s Engineers Week website:
tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/tomorrow-s- engineers-week
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
