LCRIG is shining a light on women in highways. This week, Carol Valentine – Highways Project Manager Live Labs at Kent County Council – highlights some of the challenges that need to be overcome to address the lack of diversity in the sector and talks about the work that her own authority is doing to drive forward innovation.
Q. What needs to be done to address the lack of diversity in the sector?
A. “This is a difficult question. Role models help, so as more women and BME people enter the sector this will attract other people. Also outreach and apprenticeships may help to bring in young people from more diverse backgrounds.”
Q. Are there any particular challenges you’ve had to overcome as a woman in highways?
A. “I think being different, whether it is a woman or a black person in an industry with low representation of these groups will always present some challenges. However people will often assess you on what you bring to the role and how you do the job and I have found this to be the case most of the time. Women in highways is increasing and I am seeing more women in senior positions across the country. However there is clearly more work to do and this starts by attracting young women into the business and supporting them throughout their careers. The professional associations may be able to provide mentoring programmes for women and BME staff to enable them to come into the busines and gain the necessary experience to grow and develop in their careers.”
Q. How can the industry be better at promoting itself to more diverse groups?
A. “Working with colleges and universities to promote the industry to a range of applicants. I think there is a need to demonstrate the range of career options in highways. On the consulting side I see quite a few women and maybe this is more of an area that appeals to women. However on the operational side there are also very rewarding opportunities for all. Also many women may also want to work on the delivery side – e.g. highway maintenance but representation is low and it may not seem so attractive. There needs to be a collective approach to promoting the industry to diverse groups. Other sectors are doing this and positively advertise and run programmes for under represented groups. I am sure that some of the larger companies in the industry are doing some of this but it needs to be extended. Once people are recruited, ongoing personal and professional development needs to be continued ensuring that there are fair opportunities for progression.”
Q. What is the scale of the network that your authority is responsible for?
A. “5,400 miles of carriageway, 4021 miles of footway 250,000 gullies, 140,000 street lights.”
Q. What are the biggest challenges facing you as a local authority?
A. “I think it is similar for all authorities, competing demands for limited funds. For highways there are a number of large developments in the county in the coming years including the Lower Thames Crossing and the London Resort development, both of which will bring challenges to highways as well as opportunities for employment. Additionally as the gateway to Europe we have the challenges brought about by the EU exit and the movement of HGVs in and out of the county.”
Q. How has your highways team adapted to the challenges brought about by Covid-19?
A. “The team has adapted well to the challenges. As key workers our highway inspectors, stewards and other staff have been able to get out on the network to carry out inspections and follow up on enquiries raised by the public. Utilities appear to have taken advantage of quieter roads to get work done which has led to very high numbers of permit requests which have kept our street works team extremely busy.
“Of course we have strictly followed government guidance and all staff who need to be out on the network have been provided with the appropriate PPE, masks, hand sanitiser, etc. KCC was well placed for home working, having installed Microsoft 360 at the end of 2019 enabling staff to work effectively from home. A full range of wellbeing support has and continues to be provided to all staff which has been invaluable in helping people adapt to home working.”
Q. How much importance is put on innovation within your authority and in what ways can it enable change?
A. “Innovation across the council is of great importance and much work is going on in all departments to embed technology into ways of working and service delivery. Specifically in highways, as one of 8 ADEPT Live Labs, we are at the forefront in bringing innovation into the organisation. Having been awarded just under £2m to deliver an innovation programme with our partners Amey, we have been able to trial a wide range of innovations including gully sensors, new materials (graphene enhanced asphalt), traffic counting sensors, sensors on drones utilising AI to detect carriageway deterioration to name a few. We have also developed a cloud based insights platform which is already proving to be a useful tool for highways staff as they are able to see patterns and trends in highway services that is enabling them to make different, data based decisions for future service delivery. Additionally in other parts of the department we are looking at electric vehicles (EV), an electric scooter trial, a mobility project, projects to promote public transport and support the sustainability agenda plus a host of other projects.”
Q. In what ways do you collaborate with other authorities and the supply chain?
A. “Kent County Council is part of a south east innovations group consisting of seven LAs. The group is supported by LCRIG. This is proving to be a very valuable forum as ideas are shared and we are also exploring joining up some of our trials and learning from each other. KCC has also been having discussions with other authorities in the country and engaging with technology SMEs to keep abreast of new products that may be of interest now or in the future. By working with Amey we are engaging with the supply chain and bringing other SMEs on board.”
Q. How important is the subject of the environment and what are you doing as an authority in this area?
A. “KCC takes sustainability and the environment very seriously and The Kent Environment Strategy (KES) recognises and addresses the challenges and opportunities that this will bring. Working together through the strategy and across sectors, the task is to continue to support economic growth whilst protecting and enhancing Kent’s natural and historic environment and creating and sustaining communities that are vibrant, healthy and resilient. The 2016 strategy has three themes:
- Building the foundations for delivery
- Making best use of existing resources, avoiding or minimising negative impacts
- Working towards a sustainable future.
Q. How important is the role of LCRIG in driving change within the sector?
A. “LCRIG is important in helping to drive change and we are working with them in the South East. They are able to take a holistic view of technology in the sector and help to establish contacts and identify new technology and share these across the sector.”