10 May “Spotlight” on Scott Stroud

Following the annoucement of our recent project win with Oxford Instruments, we chat with Scott Stroud, the Assistant Project Manager who joined MiCiM almost a year ago.

Tell us a bit about your career and what you’re bringing to your new role:

I started my career as an Electrician, working on projects such as schools, hospitals, and care homes. I then moved into Site Management, where I did a few years working all over the UK and even Germany for a few months. This was a very steep learning curve for me, as I was just a fresh faced 23-year-old, so earning the respect of the guys on site was my first challenge! Luckily for me, I knew a thing or two about electrics so I was able to bamboozle a few of them with the PVI formula.

Finally, I moved into a project management role within the shopfitting sector. Anyone that’s worked in shopfitting will understand that this is not a pretty place. It’s an extremely fast paced, unforgiving environment which pushed me out of my comfort zone, furthering my experience.

I feel I am bringing a positive attitude and approach to MiCiM and a very varied knowledge base. I pride myself on building strong, trusting relationships with all stakeholders on a project and working as a team to achieve the project goals.

What an interesting start to your career – what would you say are the key strengths you bring to a team?

I’m a tenacious individual and really enjoy knuckling down, working through the tough periods and solving problems within a team. They are the projects you really feel proud of at the end!

Being new to the sector, what do you think are the main challenges in the Mission Critical sector currently?

The construction industry in general is crazy at the moment as there is a real problem with material and labour shortages, in particular labour with Mission Critical experience is in short supply.

What kind of skills does one need to have to enable a career in the Mission Critical sector?

I would suggest an open mind to change and learning! This is a sector that will forever be changing in technology, so being willing to learn every day is a good start.

Over the course of your career, what would you say was your most challenging project?

This is a difficult one to choose. I have a few that were challenging for different reasons, I’d bore you if I were to talk about them all. I’m going to go with the Heathrow Airport projects that I did. Extremely tight budgets and deadlines; and the most challenging client I’ve had to deal with. Sleepless nights were a common occurrence on these ones!

Is there any cutting-edge technology which you are excited about, which will be at the forefront of the industry in the next few years?

For me, it is just seeing how far we can go with renewable energy. This is talked about a lot and we are slowly seeing change, but I’d like to see this move faster. I worked on the UK’s first solely electrical forecourt in Braintree recently, which was powered by renewable sources only.

Are there any skill/formulae/tech you learned in your formative years you still utilise today?

As stated above, the PVI triangle! I still often use this.

As you are always heavily involved in the final push to complete a project, what are your coping mechanisms to deal with the pressurised environment you live in?

Take it a day at a time. Quite often people get bogged down and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. If it gets like that, you need to come in each day with a positive attitude and tackle the problems one at a time. If a problem arises, deal with it and move on, don’t leave it until it’s too late. I always picture myself on a tennis court with balls being fired at me and batting them back, sounds crazy, I know! (Balls are the problems, of course) Also; ask for help, people enjoy solving problems as a team.

 What is it that you enjoy about working with the MiCiM team?

I can honestly say, it is the best environment I have ever worked in. Everyone is incredibly supportive and seem to love helping each other, including the senior management, which is a rarity in my experience – It really feels like a proper team.

After a busy working week, what do you do in your down time?

Opening a bottle of wine on a Friday evening and either watching something on TV with my Fiancé or planning our next holiday. We’ve already pre-planned 4 holidays for 2022! Always good to have something to look forward to!

We wish Scott all the best in his career with MiCiM, we can’t wait to see his journey continue to flourish in the Mission Critical Sector.