Meet the Engineer: Marius Movila
At Tideway, our aim is to inspire the engineers of tomorrow by promoting the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths.
We also want to showcase some of the many talented people we have working across the project. Meet Engineer Apprentice Marius Movila.
Like many young children growing up, Marius Movila dreamt of being a professional football player. “I played at semi-pro level,” he says, “but due to a knee injury, I was forced to quit.”
His childhood dream now over, Marius not only had to forge a new career path but with the added challenge of doing it in a new country. Marius arrived in the UK from Romania nine years ago, resolute in his decision to pursue a career in construction.
Marius’ desire to join the construction industry would take something of a detour, as he worked in retail sector as a Business Development Representative with some industry leading brands, including Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis, and Harvey Nichols.
“At that time that it was not easy, having come from abroad” Marius admits, “I started my journey in sales, studying International Business Management in parallel at London Metropolitan University. After seven years in various sales roles, I decided to change career, and came back to my initial desire to work in construction.”
He discovered that an apprenticeship would offer him a route into the industry.
“Changing my career was a brave decision, and I can say that starting an apprenticeship on the Tideway project is a very unique experience,” he says.
His apprenticeship began in September 2019 and Marius has found it to be a rewarding path into the profession. “An apprenticeship is actually the best way to accumulate experience. Studying while working is the best practice.”
Marius’s usual tasks include the daily site diary, Project Management quality checks such as inspections and audits, and reviewing documents.
“I started at the Barn Elms site, where I am currently based. Being an apprentice, I was fortunate to have the permission from my line manager to visit other sites like Putney and Hammersmith to oversee other activities like pipe jacking, slip forming, and shaft sinking with the spray concrete lining method at Barn Elms.”
Now firmly embedded and enjoying the career he first envisaged when arriving in the UK, what are Marius’s plans for the future?
“My focus is to finish my Project Management apprenticeship with a distinction and to accumulate experience project-wide in different sectors. In a few years’ time I would like to manage my own team on another mega project.”