Lillie Boyle
In late 2019 Lillie Boyle had just started sixth year in her school in Carrickmacross. As was customary at the time, Sisk used to visit secondaries around the country to try and encourage more women, in particular, to consider a career in construction.
Progress
Lillie liked what she heard that day; so much so that she was subsequently invited to visit our site at Belmayne in Dublin. After that, her heart was set on construction although she was unsure whether it would be possible due to the fact that she was doing ordinary level maths for Leaving Cert. Chatting one of our female engineers, however, Lillie discovered that she could begin at level 7 and then progress to level 8 from here. Here she takes up the story:
“When covid hit I didn’t sit the Leaving Cert and received predicted grades. Thankfully, I got enough points for civil engineering level 7 in Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) which was my top choice. I then completed my first year remotely.
“While studying in DKIT I got a call from Sisk offering me a place on the summer internship, which was an amazing opportunity that I took with open arms. After sitting exams in both January and May, I got offered a transfer to the level 8 course after reaching a high standard of exam results.”
Continuing
Lillie began her level 8 course in September and is continuing to work one day a week on site with Sisk, throughout the academic year. Her summer internship was spent on the Mater site in Dublin.
“It was an amazing experience as the build was still not out of the ground when I arrived - it was fantastic to be able to see the progression.”
She says she learned so much during the last few months.
“Every day there was something new to learn and remember. There were challenges on a daily basis and figuring out how to solve them and come up with solutions was a huge part of my learning. I suppose another big thing I learned is that being a young female on site can be scary as construction is a male-dominated sector, but as long as are confident in yourself and your work you’ll get on fine.”
