My Â鶹ÊÓƵ Story: Modelling a career with assistant transport planner, Lauren Wright
July 25, 2025
In the My Â鶹ÊÓƵ Story series, our designers, engineers, marketers, project managers, and leaders come together to share how their career journeys at Â鶹ÊÓƵ have shaped their lives and moved them closer to their goals.
Tell us about your role¡
I¡¯m an assistant transport planner within the Birmingham Transport team. I joined Â鶹ÊÓƵ in July 2022 and gained my promotion after two years of working as a graduate. In my role, I work on all things transport related within development planning, where most of my projects are large-scale residential or mixed-use developments.
I support planning applications that are informed by a variety of technical transport input. Whilst most of my work is written up in reports, I¡¯m also involved in a large range of data analysis before anything can be written. This includes analysing traffic survey data, modelling standalone junctions, linked junctions, or large-scale highway networks. I use software to calculate proposed development trip generations and forecast traffic flows. I¡¯m also involved in the design side of developments, producing 2D access plans to relevant design standards. Additionally, I use AutoCAD to undertake vehicle tracking for planned new accesses to establish that the geometry is suitable.
What attracted you to a career at Â鶹ÊÓƵ?
I saw a LinkedIn article about a sustainability award Â鶹ÊÓƵ had recently won. This led me to browse the Â鶹ÊÓƵ website. I was very impressed with the Company¡¯s range of work and sectors as well as their strong commitment to sustainability, communities, and the environment. I was also drawn to Â鶹ÊÓƵ being a global company with offices nearly everywhere in the world¡ªthis could open lots of new doors and exciting opportunities for me.
Share
How has your personal and professional development been supported at Â鶹ÊÓƵ?
Â鶹ÊÓƵ actively encourage everyone to pursue chartership with their relevant professional body. For me, that¡¯s with the Transport Planning Society. The route to being a fully chartered transport planner is split into two stages¡ªthe first is the Professional Development Scheme and the second is the Portfolio of Technical Evidence. Currently, I¡¯m working on the first stage. I receive regular support in the monthly Q&A sessions that Â鶹ÊÓƵ organises with a representative from the Society. We go over example objectives and share feedback from other people¡¯s reviewed objectives. I¡¯m also an active member of Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s Developing Professionals Group, which has enabled me to step forward and gain leadership experience early in my career.
I want to continue making connections across our offices, to grow my network, and get involved in as many opportunities as possible.
What has been the standout project for you during your time at Â鶹ÊÓƵ?
A standout project for me is the microsimulation modelling I¡¯ve been doing to support a planning application for a sustainable mixed-use urban extension. For this project, we created a base-year model and a future-year model with and without the development. We used this to assess the impact the associated trip generation from the development will have on the highway network. I started working on the project, having never used PTV Vissim, the microsimulation modelling software. The modelling team patiently worked with me, teaching me how to use it, and now I feel confident using Vissim.? ??
What are your ambitions for your future at Â鶹ÊÓƵ?
I'd like to continue strengthening my technical skills, whilst also aiming to become a project manager in addition to my role. I¡¯m currently taking project management assistant training which sets out the foundations of how project management within the Infrastructure Business Centre works. Personally, I want to continue making connections across our offices, to grow my network, and get involved in as many opportunities as possible, such as socials, volunteering, or fundraising events.
What are your passions outside of work?
Outside of work, I like to go to the gym and play hockey. Right now, I¡¯m dabbling in fair weather cycling, having got lucky with lovely weather on the day of the Oxford Sportive, cycling 25 miles! On more chilled days, I love sewing¡ªand usually have a dressmaking project on the go¡ªor reading frantically, trying finish my book before the next Book Club meeting. I also have a black cat called Max, who is now 17, so I make sure my team are up to date on the latest cute pictures of him!
Why should others join the Â鶹ÊÓƵ team?
Â鶹ÊÓƵ is so much more than just a place to work! Here, you¡¯ll feel valued and engaged¡ªand you¡¯ll be joining a worldwide community! You¡¯ll be able to work on a wide range of challenging and exciting projects, and many of these earn industry awards. The Company offers a great benefits package with dynamic career progression opportunities. Aside from projects, there are many opportunities and groups to get involved with, such as Â鶹ÊÓƵ in the Community Week and the Developing Professionals Group.
At Â鶹ÊÓƵ, we put people first. For Lauren, that means growing professionally and personally with all the great opportunities?
