Insight into Nottingham with Matt Koren

Matt Koren joined our Nottingham office in 2021, where there has been a constant flurry of activity and growth for our team. We recently spoke to Matt, who gave us insight into the different opportunities that have been presented to him over the past three years and what it is like to work in the energetic East Midlands city.

How long have you been working at Rodgers Leask? 

I have been at Rodgers Leask for almost three years now, joining the business as the new Nottingham office opened back in 2021. I knew I was in a place where I can progress my career in many ways, especially at such an exciting time for the business and Nottingham team.

What career opportunities have you been presented with at Rodgers Leask? 

If you take every day as it comes, whilst planning for the future, keep clients happy and work to the highest standards possible, opportunities can open to you quickly. For example, I have been able to step up and lead the structures team in the Nottingham office. An opportunity opened and I was able to seize the moment.

In terms of professional development, I have received a lot of support while preparing for the IStructE Chartered Membership exam. I studied using past papers and several directors reviewed them and gave me constructive feedback which helped tremendously on my path to becoming chartered.

What is your proudest moment working for the business so far? 

Building up the structures department in Nottingham to where it is today and creating a strong team to deliver the interesting projects we work on for our clients. Additionally, I’m proud of how consistently our office has been hitting financial targets and providing quality project work to our clients, especially in the industrial and logistics sector. This no doubt helps with regularly securing repeat business as well as new clients. We are confident once we secure a new project with a client in any sector and of any size we will be able to showcase our skills.

What challenges have you overcome so far and how has Rodgers Leask supported you? 

Recruitment will always be a challenge because we are focused on finding the best talent and not settling for anything less. Fortunately, I have had the support of the company and directors in finding good candidates to fill vacancies.

There’s a lot of project and design work happening currently with managerial responsibilities to fit around this. It’s a challenge but the good kind, which keeps things exciting professionally and means there’s always an opportunity to excel and grow.

How would you describe working at Rodgers Leask in Nottingham? 

Rodgers Leask is the most enjoyable place I have worked at during my career so far. I like the independence and responsibility that I have been given, whilst also knowing that support is available should it be needed.

We are all stronger together as support and resources can come from all of our offices across the country, which means things are always delivered on time and to the highest standard. This spirit of collaboration is invaluable.

What is your best advice for building a successful career in the engineering industry?

My best advice would be to work hard, work with initiative and show eagerness and you will have an enjoyable career in engineering. The more effort you put in the more you will develop and open opportunities to work on interesting projects. There are different technical specialisms across the disciplines but if you interact and learn from each one, you’ll have a long and exciting career with a well-rounded appreciation for the profession