During the week of March 30th, Sugar Creek Construction, LLC, a joint venture of Ferrovial Agroman S.E. and English Construction Co. LLC, hosted an engineering recruitment event with graduating engineers from top universities to help identify top talent to join Ferrovial. Upcoming graduates from Northeastern University and Georgia Institute of Technology traveled to the I-77 Express Lanes Project Office in Charlotte, North Carolina to meet with project leadership and staff. The construction of the 26-mile I-77 Express Lanes is creating a long-term, reliable travel option down the middle of the I-77 North corridor by providing drivers with a choice of how to travel on I-77 between Uptown Charlotte, NC and Exit 36 in Mooresville, NC. The express lanes are dedicated travel lanes that will run adjacent to the existing general purpose lanes. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
Ferrovial’s engineering recruitment event
The engineering recruitment event began with a message from the Project’s CEO, Carlos Garcia Escrig, who gave insight into his own career path along with a detailed overview of the project.
“I joined Ferrovial as a young engineer right out of school. When new engineers are able to meet with seasoned professionals and ask questions, they are able to develop relationships that continue throughout their life. Events like this shows how much Ferrovial cares about long term career growth. I still remember visiting my first Ferrovial project and I am more passionate about the company because of that visit.” – Carlos Garcia Escrig, Sugar Creek Construction, LLC CEO.
Once everyone completed a field safety orientation, the students visited key project areas to witness complex design elements being brought to life by construction. They had the opportunity to visually inspect welding and pile driving activities on the expansion of bridges near Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina.
After a tour of the project, the team of engineers returned to the project’s office site where they learned in depth the history, and future direction and objectives of Ferrovial Agroman in North America. A dynamic Q&A session gave the team of engineers chance to ask questions to leadership and provided a great opportunity for them to build a foundation of knowledge to make an informed decision on why to join Ferrovial.
Engineering construction case study
The engineers were encouraged to participate in a group case study. They were divided into two groups, a group of representatives of stakeholders and a construction management team. Together they work in a group setting to negotiate a fictitious construction change order. This group activity gave the Sugar Creek Managers a chance to work with each of the engineers in a setting where they have to work with others in a fast paced scenario. In the end, the engineers received feedback on how well they performed. There is a valuable amount of information that comes out of placing the engineers in this scenario that is not seen in a traditional interview scenario. It removes the comfort of the university and adds in the urgency of the real world. The students felt like they understood better Ferrovial’s philosohpy and what is like to work for a top Heavy Civil Construction company.
This dynamic and diverse engineering recruitment event gave this group of young engineers a unique experience into the world of heavy civil construction projects. Our goal is to find top talent to join our company and in the process help formed young careers and build relationships that last a lifetime.
