One day, taking a gearbox out of a vehicle in the middle of the night as a 17-year-old apprentice automotive engineer Helen West had a flash of realisation: “I can’t be doing this when I’m 30!” Today, Helen is global director, marine asset integrity, at Fugro. In this episode, she shares how she plans and manages her career.

The key, Helen says, is to decide on where you want to be in ten years’ time, identify the steps you need to take to get there, and to create a flexible plan for the decade ahead. As well as a good plan, it helps to have a supportive partner, and to work together to ensure that both of your life plans can run in parallel.

Today, Helen shares this approach with the teams that she works with and mentors. And, in this episode, she talks to Jon Baston-Pitt about how she manages her career by maximising on opportunities, and her experiences as a mentor.

Host

Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro

Guest

Helen West, Global Director, Marine Asset Integrity, Fugro