Tell us about your role and how you became interested in the engineering sector.

I’m Kieran Ogilvie. I joined Weir as a Finance summer intern and am an undergraduate Finance and Business Analysis student at the University of Strathclyde, going into my 4th and final year. I became interested in the engineering sector after learning about the significant opportunities for finance and business graduates within the sector.

Weir has played a huge role in shaping Glasgow’s engineering sector over the years and has a close relationship with The University of Strathclyde. There aren’t many multi-national FTSE100 companies headquartered in Glasgow, so I jumped at the chance to work with the team at Weir.

Over the course of the internship, I’ve had the chance to work with a range of teams at the corporate head office, including Group Finance, Tax, Internal Audit, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. This has given me a fantastic opportunity to better understand not only what I enjoy, but where my strengths lie, which has helped me think about what path I might want to pursue once I graduate.

What’s the most exciting/innovative project you’ve worked on?

I’ve had the chance to work on many exciting projects during my time with the team. This has been hugely beneficial as I’ve been able to have a real impact on the business.

I helped the team prepare the Interim results, including working with Investor Relations to prepare for Weir’s market announcements. Working with Internal Audit helped me experience the full audit process. And with Tax, I got the chance to help prepare documents which impact the entire business. Each of these projects has been a fantastic way for me to learn, develop and put the knowledge and skills that I developed at university into practice, with real outcomes for the business.

What would you say to other young people who may be considering a career in the engineering sector?

Through my internship with Weir, I’ve been able to gain insight into the range of different accounting and finance roles within the sector and the vast opportunities for finance and business students/graduates. Working in the engineering sector enables your work to have a positive impact on the world and society - even more so at Weir who are committed to driving sustainable mining. I would absolutely urge students and graduates from any discipline to explore roles within the engineering sector, as there are roles for everyone.

What makes you feel that you can be yourself and belong at Weir?

I realised quickly at the start of my journey that Weir is incredibly committed to employee development. They support their employees’ interests and career ambitions which as a soon to be graduate was appealing from the get go.

Every team I worked with were encouraging and keen to get me involved in projects and help me along my journey. The transition from education to working within the industry can be very daunting for a student/graduate, but everyone at Weir made the process incredibly easy and welcomed me from the very start.