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Hills Road students explore careers in c...

Hills Road students explore careers in construction

Ten Hills Road students visited Botanic Place on Hills Road in June to discover the range of careers available in the construction industry.

Published on 01/09/2026

Hills Road Careers Advisor Anita Irving, Nick Wilson of RealPM, and Kate Price of Skanska arranged the visit. The students, who are interested in careers in business, architecture, engineering and IT, took part in a site visit, presentations and conversations with industry professionals.

When completed (Dec 2028), Botanic Place will be a prominent commercial office development in the heart of Cambridge. The project also includes restoring the building shell of the former Flying Pig pub on Hills Road.

The development features more than 40,000 sq ft of terraces across multiple levels, designed to encourage community interaction while also providing private outdoor spaces. Inside, 15,000 sq ft of internal amenities, including event spaces and food and beverage areas, will create a vibrant, dynamic workplace environment.

Nick Wilson, Project Manager at RealPM, said, "The idea was to give more students a meaningful insight into construction than could be offered through a traditional week of work experience with one student. The aim was to show the breadth of opportunities in the industry and how people with different skills and interests can find a route into the sector."

"The visit gave students a positive and realistic view of the sector and would, hopefully, inspire them to explore its many career opportunities."

This experience was definitely helpful in teaching the often overlooked yet important details of construction and architecture. It reassured me that I want to go into architecture.
Shreya

I enjoyed it a lot. Everything was really professional, the people there were so helpful and we took part in couple of activities. The tour of the project was interesting. It is something that definitely helped me in terms of potential careers, I learned a lot about different types of roles.
Krasimir

I felt the day was a real success, helped enormously by the students’ enthusiasm, engagement and willingness to ask questions. It was particularly rewarding to hear that one student, who had never previously considered a career in construction, would now think about it as a genuine option. That is exactly what we hoped the day would achieve.
Nick Wilson, Project Manager at RealPM