Two Cumbrian women have won industry awards for their work in project management.
The Festival of Education and Research, run by the Association of Project Management, aims to celebrate the best and brightest new talent in the industry.
Charlotte Bethell, 23, of Whitehaven, is a project management degree apprentice at Sellafield Ltd and University of Cumbria.
She was awarded Project Management Apprentice of the Year, a category which recognises excellence in a Higher or Degree Apprentice undertaking a project management standard within the UK, as well as those who completed the programme in 2020 or 2021.
The panel of judges said they were impressed with the development opportunities which Charlotte embraced during her degree apprenticeship, working to promote STEM careers and recruitment into the nuclear industry, as well as leading on Sellafield Ltd’s response to a national charity appeal to fill shoeboxes with toys and gifts for underprivileged children at Christmas.
Within Sellafield Ltd, she is recognised as a committed professional who can always be relied upon.
Charlotte said: “I’m extremely grateful to have received this award. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last four years of my apprenticeship. I want to give special thanks to my apprenticeship co-ordinator, placement manager and the University of Cumbria.
“For me, the great thing about the apprenticeship programme at Sellafield is that you get to try so many different things, like project controls, risk and planning. Doing that while being able to continue at university and get a degree has been fantastic.”
Erika Graham-Jones, of Workington, won the Project Management Graduate of the Year award.
Erika, currently a project support at Sellafield Ltd, received a first-class bachelor of science (hons) degree in project management at the University of Cumbria in 2021.
While at university, Erika, 25, saw an opportunity to focus on an area which had not been researched before – dyslexia and neurodiversity in project management.
After being tested for dyslexia during her apprenticeship programme and subsequently diagnosed, Erika worked with colleagues to create a support network for neurodiverse people in the workplace, introduce processes to help people be tested for neurodiverse conditions, and facilitate access to assistive technology.
She said: “I really wasn’t expecting to win. I’m thrilled. I’m over the moon.
“I started my career path doing reception work for an organisation that did engineering project management and I picked up on it there.
“I then applied to do the apprenticeship programme with Sellafield. I finished that in 2021. I was working at Sellafield and studying at the University of Cumbria at the same time. I went to university one day a week and to work four days a week. It was a really good experience. I moved around the business every few months doing planning, cost management, risk management and placements in construction. You get experience of all the different project management elements.
“There are really good career pathways at Sellafield. I’m now working on becoming a project sub-manager.”
