Mum-to-be Emma gains 8 Distinctions out of 8 on HNC Construction course

Emma, 29, celebrated the success she enjoyed during her Level 4 Construction Management for England (Site Supervisor) studies at Thursday’s York College University Centre Graduation Day held in York Minster.

Her efforts were also recognised earlier this year with the Principal’s Prize at the college’s annual Construction Awards.

She now plans to become a role model for women in the industry as she applies her newly acquired skills to her father’s building firm MLC York Limited.  

Already overseeing financial operations for the family construction company, Emma also opened Portuguese-themed restaurant Tasca Frango in Colliergate with husband Ted during her two-year studies and continued her work as a trustee for the charity Three Bears Foundation.  

She is now expecting her first baby on Christmas Day and, whilst admitting that “trying to fit everything in has been crazy”, Emma was determined not to neglect her College commitments and, as each Distinction rolled in, it incentivised her even more to complete a full set.

“Twenty per cent of my working week was at College, which is a lot of time when you’re also working for two businesses and I didn’t really know what to expect as I hadn’t done any formal studying for a while,” she pointed out. “We then lost my mum last October and I got married in the same month before becoming pregnant in March, but I found the course really enjoyable and, after I got a Distinction in the first couple, I thought this might be something that’s achievable. I then got four and six and thought, ‘Right, I’ve really got to try and get all eight’.  

“The tutors were also great at establishing what I needed to do more of in terms of what they were looking for in essays and understanding the differences between analysing, discussing and evaluating. The hardest module was definitely the final individual assignment, just because you are completely guided by yourself.

“You essentially come up with the brief and have to make sure you hit all the criteria, but I worked very hard and tried to do the best I could. I also felt very honoured to get the recognition of a Construction Award – I didn’t expect that at all!”

Emma and Ted successfully applied for a special registry office licence to bring forward the date of their wedding in the hope that it would be in time for her Mum, who was battling illness, to see the couple tie the knot.

Sadly, she passed away just six days before they were married, but Emma knew her mother would want her to complete her studies and she was also grateful for the compassion shown by College during such a tough period in her life.

"It was an incredibly difficult, challenging and sad time when Mum passed away but, as a family, we knew that she would have wanted us to push through everything with tenacity and determination and she certainly prepared us for that," Emma explained.

"The tutors were really supportive and granted me a time extension. They were very understanding when there were days missed, too." 

Having dropped out from her Modern Languages university course as a teenager because “it wasn’t for me”, Emma secured a bookkeeping apprenticeship having left school with an A Level in Maths and pursued an accountancy career, before joining her dad’s company.

Although construction remains a male-dominated industry, Emma senses attitudes towards women in the workplace are changing 

“I think men and women do have different ways of looking at things and, while some men can be disrespectful, I’ve mainly found the opposite and that they can be more respectful because you’re a woman,” Emma reasoned. “I’ve certainly not felt there’s a ceiling for me and three of the 10 students on our College course were women.”

Having regained the education bug, Emma is now keen to continue acquiring skills and knowledge that will help ensure a successful future for MLC York.

“Let me give birth first but, hopefully, by next September, I’ll be ready to go again!” she laughed when asked about her next steps. “I want to know as much as I can about running construction projects, because that’s the only way I’m going to be successful in the business.

“I’ve got that knowledge of cashflows, management accounts and running a budget, but I also need to know more about what’s going on outside. I need to decide whether I look at quantity surveying and cost consultancy or project management next.

“It will probably be a case of doing a part-time uni degree and taking the baby in with me, while helping to run the restaurant and charity as well!”

To learn more about York College’s HNC in Construction Management for England (Site Supervisor) course, please click here

You can also find out more about the college’s full Construction offering and meet tutors at their next Open Event on Tuesday 8th October from 5.30pm to 8pm. Register a place by clicking here