Graduate Experience
Nine months in, and just getting started
When I joined Crescar in September 2025, I hadn’t anticipated the breadth of experience I’d be gaining. Not just from an industry perspective, but the intricacies of running a multinational consultancy and the layers of support the team provides across the business.
We’re a lean but incredibly resourceful team and being in a graduate role has meant learning directly from Directors across the business. With Shane Webster, I’ve been introduced to the world of PMOs, the structure and thinking that sits behind every project, almost like building a mini business from scratch each time. With Russell Watmore, the focus shifts to business operations and compliance, the foundations that allow everything else to function at optimal capacity. Both have been eye-opening in different ways.
Before joining, I was a regular user of public transport, but I had never really considered the wider ecosystem. From government relationships, to passenger experience, integration of IT systems and
AI, or even women’s safety – there are so many layers to what transport means to people and Crescar’s work across research, PMO, bid writing and implementation means I get to see how those connections come together, every day.
Bringing my Degree to Work
My history degree gave me strong foundations in research and data analysis, along with the instinct to interrogate sources, question assumptions, and figure out what’s actually useful. That’s translated directly into my everyday work, and one of my projects since joining has been producing regular press clippings for the team. This involves filtering what matters, understanding the audience, and making sure the right information reaches the right people. I’ve also been writing internal newsletters to keep our global team connected on the small individual wins and regional updates in a way that’s meaningful and useful.
Getting involved in the business
One of the highlights so far has been playing a central part in the launch of Crescar’s new Stockport office. From researching and sourcing the location, to organising the move, managing the event logistics, and creating employee handbooks and onboarding materials, it was a brilliant opportunity to see how the operational side of a growing business comes together. Knowing that I drove that process from start to finish, and that Crescar now has a new base in the north as a result, is something I’m really proud of.
Understanding business operations at a granular level, how a business is structured, how it runs day to day, and what keeps everything functioning, is something I find really interesting. Working with Russell has been a big part of that, and it is the area I am most keen to develop in. Looking ahead, I want to build on this further, getting into the finance systems, understanding HR policies, and developing a much deeper grasp of what makes the operational side of Crescar tick.
Building on this
Nine months in, I’ve already completed my PRINCE2 qualification. This is something I did alongside colleagues Miles, Marina and Jacinta, and I can already see how that knowledge maps onto the project lifecycle work I’m involved in day to day.
I’m also keen to experience workshop management for PMOs and see how all the moving parts come together, where the challenges sit, and where I can contribute most. These sessions are a cross-collaboration between all the stakeholders on projects and managing the communications, the people, the resources, and output is something I’m intrigued by and keen to understand further.
Being the first graduate in the company means that I’ve had the ability to shape my experience based on my interests. The Directors and my co-workers have been open and welcoming, allowing me to shadow various parts of the business and use that historian’s instinct to question things deeper and get to grips with complex ideas in an engaging and interesting way.
What’s also brilliant about this industry is the sheer scale of it. There are so many facets to transport that you could spend a career moving between them and still not cover everything. Weaving together all of that opportunity and possibility in this role as a foundation starting point gives me a really clear anchor of what could be next and that, is incredibly exciting.
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