From school teacher to Sustainabilty Consultant

From School Teacher to Sustainabilty Consultant

Erika Mint, Sustainabilty Consultant, calfordseaden

Erika Mint joined calfordseaden’s Sustainability Team in May 2022. Erika’s unique career journey has seen her go from primary school teacher to sustainability consultant. Almost a year after joining, Erika discusses her role as a Sustainability Consultant, experience of changing careers and plans for the future.

I graduated in 1996 with a BEd (Hons) in Physical Education and Science. After graduating, I initially worked as a secondary school teacher and then a primary school teacher for 15 years. Whilst working as a teacher, I was also the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at the school.

I loved my career as a teacher, however, I felt that I needed a new challenge. In July 2021, I started a new position working at a local authority as an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) coordinator. However, this role didn’t feel quite right and made me realise that my career actually needed a complete change of direction. When the opportunity arose to join calfordseaden as a Sustainability Consultant in May 2022, I jumped in head first and haven’t looked back!

So far, I have worked mainly on measuring and assessing the sustainability of new constructions and considering the assessment criteria. I have also worked on checking the compliance against what the client has provided evidentially, then collating the information and feeding back to the client. I am building my experience, assisting on Whole Life Carbon and Circular Economy Assessments on live projects. Recently, I represented calfordseaden at a careers fair at a local girls’ secondary school. It was great to be back in the school environment in a new role, encouraging young girls to consider a career in construction.

Coming from a teaching position, the flexible working arrangement at calfordseaden has made a huge difference to my work-life balance. Being in the office part-time has been really useful because of the social aspect which is not only great for getting to know my colleagues and working more collaboratively but also to learn from those around me, whether that be from overhearing conversations about projects or being able to ask questions and receiving answers instantly.

It is truly so rewarding to be part of a team that is so important not only to calfordseaden, but also to wider society. When we think about sustainability and the change that it’s going to have and is having, I feel privileged to be able to contribute towards that in a positive way.

I guess I have always felt good doing something that has a positive contribution to society and on generations to come. With teaching, it was the tool of education to shape the future of children’s lives. Now, it is looking at the sustainable aspects of buildings and their wider environment.

I also enjoy taking this one step further and considering the experience for the residents and community. Working largely on mixed development schemes in the surrounding boroughs of London, where the areas can be quite densely populated, it is interesting to think of ways to ensure sustainable levels are achieved whilst also making it a lovely place for people to live and not just ticking the sustainable box.

I am proud to have already completed my whole life cycle assessment training and in October 2022 I passed my BREEAM exams and am now a qualified BREEAM UK New Construction Assessor. I hope to build on this and study for the BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-out Assessor qualification. Once I have gained more environmental experience, I will look to expand my knowledge on the energy aspect of sustainability.

Having science as part of my teaching degree, I felt I had a fairly strong base level understanding of some of the aspects of the role. Two key transferable skills from my teaching experience that have assisted me in my new role are problem solving and strong communication. However, I think that the main qualities you need are motivation and a readiness to learn. It feels good to be the student not the teacher for once and every day is a school day now!

I have not once felt at a disadvantage to my colleagues at calfordseaden because of my career background. As long as you are ready to take on a new challenge, are willing to learn and have a supportive team behind you, then there is nothing holding you back.