“I can’t remember the last time I felt like this at work. It’s a wonderful feeling.” – Kola Alabede on his return to Kier
Kola Alabede is a design lead working in the London region of our construction business at Kier. He’s currently in his second role with us, since leaving in 2015 and returning in 2024.
As someone who has a vast amount of experience in the construction industry, Kola was keen to share his story, with the hope of inspiring others.
“I had a long career at Kier the first time around,” Kola started telling me. “I spent just short of 16 years here, before I left to explore more of the industry,” he added.
“It most definitely wasn’t a decision I took lightly I have to add. I’d had a great career at Kier and it wasn’t easy to leave. I often asked myself whether I’d made the right decision,” Kola told me.
Kola spent time in two other business after he left Kier, before the opportunity to return came up in 2024.
“I was excited at the prospect of returning to be honest. I’d done what I wanted to do in terms of exploring a little bit further around the industry. I was always seeing positive stuff from Kier on their social media and I never turned my back on the idea of returning,” he said.
In November 2024, Kola officially joined us for the second time in his career, as a Design Lead in the London region of our construction business.
“It’s a great job. I’m still embedding myself in at the moment, but I’ve had loads of chances to get out on site,” he said.
Kola reinforced the importance of this aspect of his role, saying how it’s vital to see his, and his team’s work in practice.
On an average day, Kola will be working with the project team for a project, ensuring the design management function is delivering the business needs and, collaborating with the wider project team. But his passion to lead and support his team is what really makes him want to come to work each day.
He described his role as “a bridge that helps the team deliver” explaining that he is always keen to provide all the support he can, given his broad experience in the industry.
“At the end of the day, I’ve been in the position that many people in the team around me are in – wanting to learn and develop. I’ve been in jobs where senior managers haven’t given time to help develop and support the team, and I don’t want to repeat that,” Kola said.
“I’ve noticed a cultural shift in that sense, definitely,” he said. “I’ve noticed that so many more people in the business are focused on helping their teams develop and progress in their roles. People truly enjoy what they do, and it’s great to see that,” he added.
At Kier, the professional development of our people is important to us. We offer a range of support, from casual online learning courses to keep your knowledge up to date as well as more formal learning and development programmes.
Back to Kola though, and I was next interested to hear a bit more about the change he’s seen at Kier. Having been away for nearly 10 years, much has changed at not only Kier, but within our industry as a whole – a lot of which Kola has seen.
“I touched on it earlier, but I’d definitely say the cultural shift is the biggest change I’ve seen since returning to Kier. You can tell that a lot of work has been done on that. People seem to be able to confidently say that they enjoy working at Kier, and they like what they do,” he said.
I then asked Kola if he’d recommend that other people follow in his footsteps, and return to Kier, or join us in general. “I would absolutely recommend that people return, without a doubt,” he started saying.
“I’ve seen a huge change culturally, and from a technical side of things too. It’s an exciting industry to be a part of, and Kier feels like a great place to be,” he added.
Kola carried on, saying how he expected to see positive change and that he hasn’t been disappointed in what he’s seen. “I know that I’ve made a fantastic decision. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good about work, it’s a wonderful feeling,” he finished by saying.
Kola’s experience is one that will resonate with many people. Taking the chance on leaving a role you’re comfortable in to explore the industry a little but further, building your experience.
Hopefully hearing his story will encourage you to follow him, in either returning to Kier, or joining us for the first time!
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