Feeling like a part of something bigger – Lorenzo Mwenewanda’s start to life at Kier.

Over the years, I’ve worked on several stories with our emerging talent at Kier. I always love it and this blog’s guest is no exception.

I would like to introduce you to Lorenzo Mwenewanda, commercial trainee within Kier Natural Resources, Nuclear & Networks.  Lorenzo and I originally met in 2024 on a day where he was part of a group filming a podcast. Episode with Youth Group.

We met again a few months later at our 2024 apprentice induction event, and had the chance to have a more in-depth conversation about what his start to life with us at Kier has been like.

“I feel like I’m part of something bigger. I know my role in the team and the team’s role in the wider business – it’s really motivating to feel like that,” Lorenzo told me.

Lorenzo has been at Kier now since September 2024, as a commercial trainee within our Natural Resources, Nuclear & Networks business stream. He joined on a degree apprenticeship in quantity surveying; taking an opportunity to gain a degree without taking on a single penny in student debt!

“It feels like a blessing to know that I can get a degree and not have to take on the debt that you’d usually get with going to uni, I love it!” Lorenzo said.

I asked Lorenzo how he’s found things so far, and what his start to life at Kier has been like. “I really do enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of learning to do, a lot to take in but I love that,” he said.

As someone who enjoys being ‘on the go’ and gets a lot of enjoyment out of working, Lorenzo is really embracing all the learnings he’s been able to take in his role so far.

“I actually had my first university week recently too. We were at Sheffield Hallam University, and at the start of the week, the emerging talent team hosted an evening where the degree apprentices could get together and network a bit more. It was nice to have that,” Lorenzo told me.

He added that it was a great chance to be amongst the group of our other degree apprentice cohort, especially ahead of a busy first week at university. “There was a lot to take in again but I’m excited to start combining my role and my university work, really seeing how it all comes together,” he added.

In terms of a typical day for Lorenzo, he found it tricky to really describe due to the variety he gets involved in. However, he told me about many of the opportunities he’s had to host meetings with his team as well as clients and subcontractors.

“There’s a lot of numbers in my job too, I work a lot with them but it’s something that stands out as one of my favourite parts. I’m really enjoying working in quantity surveying,” Lorenzo said.

We then dived a little further back into the days before Lorenzo joined Kier. Speaking about his interests at school, and whether he ever saw himself coming into the construction industry.

“I left school knowing I wanted to get into construction. I’d done quite a bit of research and knew what types of opportunities were out there. I was always keen on the idea of working at a big company like Kier as well, and feeling like I’m really contributing to something bigger,” he told me.

Lorenzo has also had many opportunities to network, meet others on his course and even have some time in front of the camera for our social media channels!

“We had the induction at the end of 2024, and it was so fun. I enjoyed meeting the other apprentices coming into Kier. We had some good games and activities as well which definitely helped us all network a bit more, it was good fun,” he added.  

Lorenzo continued by adding that he feels settled at Kier, and truly feels able to bring his whole self to work. “I like to express myself and here, I can be me. That means a lot, to know I can come to work, be myself and not need to worry about changing for anyone,” he told me.

Overall, Lorenzo has had a great start to life at Kier. With opportunities to develop and network with others, he’s learning every single day, showing just how great a degree apprenticeship has been for him.

If you’re interested in taking a similar route in your career to Lorenzo, take a look at our apprenticeship vacancies here.