Meet Tia Hirani-Shah, who has just completed a week’s work experience on Brent Cross West station.

And after shadowing a wide range of staff who are helping to create the new station, Tia told us how it has helped her to get a better idea of what she wants to do with her life and how she wants to do it.

“I’ve been able to see what so many different people do, learning about their roles and what it’s like on a construction site, and seeing how it all fits together,” she said.

“I’ve shadowed different people each day, from project managers, to people in planning and regeneration. Every day has been different.”

Tia, who lives in Barnet, is due to begin the second year of her A Levels next month. She is also considering what to do when she leaves school and is looking at studying civil engineering.

She said: “It’s definitely helped me to realise that I’d prefer to do an apprenticeship rather than go to university. I’ve now got experience of what it’s like on-site, and I’ve been able to talk to people who work here about their careers and their experience.”

There is a commitment across the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme to providing a wide range of opportunities, from apprenticeships to encouraging more women to consider careers in constructions.

But what particularly surprised Tia was the emphasis on sustainability at Brent Cross West.

She added: “Learning things like how many carbon emissions are produced in building a project like this, and what they’re doing to be carbon-neutral, was really interesting.”

Find out more about the new station we’re building at Brent Cross West here and about the wider station programme here.

You can read about student and graduate opportunities with Mace here.

And if you are interested in finding out more about work experience placements on the programme, contact Cali Ibrahim on skills@barnet.gov.uk