A civil engineer who found it difficult to break into the construction industry after moving to the UK, has joined a national programme and placement with Spitfire Homes to help launch her career.
Aneena Thomas, originally from Cochin in India, joined the Midlands-based homebuilder for a two-week placement at Viridian, Edgbaston, through the Home Builders Federation’s (HBF) Women into Home Building programme. The initiative has recently won Career Development Initiative of the Year at the Women in Housing and Housing Heroes Awards 2026, recognising its impact in improving outcomes for women across the sector.
Aneena holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala and a master’s degree in construction management from Coventry University, alongside six years’ industry experience as a civil engineer, project coordinator and design coordinator. Despite her qualifications, she found it difficult to break into the UK construction sector, where employers typically look for local site experience. This led her to apply for the programme, which offered the site-base exposure that the industry is looking for.
Aneena said:
“Since I didn’t have any experience on site within the UK, it was hard to get into the industry here, because that is what employers ask for a lot of the time. I’d worked in construction for six years in India, but I needed UK experience to move forward, and this programme offered me exactly that. It has built on everything I did back home, and I can already see it opening the door to new opportunities.”
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During her placement, Aneena shadowed Site Manager Matt Nagorski and Assistant Site Manager Mike Scully, observing how they managed subcontractors, resolved issues on site and upheld health and safety standards.
Aneena added:
“Even though the process of building a house is the same, the materials and construction methods are different to what I was used to in India. The standards the site team work to, and the way they keep everything running smoothly and safely, gave me a valuable insight into how things are done here that I could take away as valuable experience.”
She also sat in on Spitfire’s monthly project meetings, bringing together engineering, commercial, planning, technical and construction teams.
About to be in its ninth cohort since launching in 2023, the HBF programme offers fully funded site management placements in collaboration with national and regional homebuilders. The three-week programme combines a week of online training with two weeks of hands-on work experience, with childcare and travel support sponsored by NHBC to help remove barriers to entry. To date, it has supported more than 150 candidates, with over 50 going on to secure employment in the industry.
Aneena is a strong advocate for greater representation of women in construction – an industry where women currently make up just 15 per cent of the workforce and only five per cent of site managers, according to HBF research.
Matt Vincent, Operations Director at Spitfire Homes, said:
“Supporting initiatives like Women into Home Building goes to the heart of who we are as a business. We’re committed to opening up our industry and welcoming the next generation of talent into Spitfire. Aneena brought real enthusiasm and a wealth of technical knowledge to Viridian, Edgbaston, and made a genuine impression on everyone she worked with.
“The industry needs more women in site-based and technical roles alike, and we’re determined to play our part in creating those opportunities and helping people build lasting careers in housebuilding.”
