Emma Simpson, originally from Doncaster, in Yorkshire, scooped the Young Professional of the Year Award at the Association of Project Management 2020 Awards (APM) thanks to her incredible work on many road improvement schemes across Lancashire, Cheshire and her home county.

Emma applied to join Highways England’s three-year graduate programme in 2017 after studying Business and Economics at University of Northumbria and has since been promoted to an assistant project manager role based in Manchester, a job in which she’s thriving.

Emma, aged 25, who found out she won via a virtual awards ceremony earlier this month (November), said:

Being recognised by my peers is an incredible feeling and receiving this award is something I’ll forever appreciate.

The Highways England Graduate Programme gave me a wealth of opportunities, several chances to move around the business in different placements, amazing support from my managers and an industry recognised qualification. All of which provided me the skills to be recognised with an APM award at this early stage of my career.

Jon Stokes, Senior Project Manager at Highways England, added:

We are incredibly proud of Emma and what’s she’s achieved. Approaching everything with high professionalism, building constructive relationships with a variety of stakeholders and her colleagues, Emma has successfully delivered her own scheme and is now deputising for the lead Project Manager on a nationally significant infrastructure project.

Emma’s experience is a fantastic example of what the Highway England Graduate Programme can provide, offering work across a variety of roles, such as; project management, cyber security, data analysis and many more – all helping to keep people safe, connect businesses and improve community life around our roads.

Recruitment for Highways England’s 2021 graduate intake has recently closed with hundreds of applications submitted in recent weeks. However, applications for apprenticeships within the company which manages, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A-roads, are now open.

Earlier this year, Highways England unveiled £27 billion roads investment plans for our strategic road network which will help support 64,000 construction industry jobs. From finance and operations to communications and engineering, the company has a variety of apprentice opportunities available to help build a network for the future and get careers off to a flying start.

Find out about opportunities via the Highways England careers website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

A two-year routine maintenance programme on a bridge used by around 23,000 drivers a day has recently completed – with hardly any impact on road users.

A team of highly skilled engineers began work on site on the Ouse Bridge on the M62 in Yorkshire in May 2018 and over the past two years they have replaced over 200 bridge bearings largely out of sight of drivers. The bearings support the bridge and allow it to move in a controlled way during changes in temperature and weather.

Now they have just finished replacing the bridge parapets, leaving a bridge fit for many more years to come.

The Ouse Bridge was opened in 1976, the last section of the main part of the M62 which stretches east to west from Liverpool to Hull. The maintenance is just one example of the type of work which Highways England teams do every day to ensure its 22,000 structures – including bridges and tunnels – that are used daily by millions of people remain safe.

Abseiling, crawling and diving are all ways bridge engineers and inspectors get up close and personal with the country’s structures to keep them safe.

Highways England’s Chief Highways Engineer Mike Wilson said:

Our roads connect the country and everyday millions of people rely on our structures to get safely to their destination. We carry out thousands of inspections every year looking at all aspects of structures, from the condition of the paint through to the integrity of the materials. Considering all these assessments together helps us assess the overall maintenance needs, programme maintenance to reduce disruption and reduce the likelihood of emergency repairs.

Highways England has a rigorous inspection regime for all its structures, which identifies maintenance needs and required repairs. General inspections are undertaken every two years with more detailed principal inspections typically every six years involving close examination of all parts of a structure.

Most of the inspections and repairs take place overnight or underneath the structures, meaning that often drivers are unaware of the work. This can include abseiling down a bridge, examining tunnels and diving to inspect underwater parts of our structures.

Bridge engineers use a variety of techniques to ensure that the structures, tunnels and associated equipment are all in working order. Abseiling allows engineers to examine parts of a structure that are difficult to access, such as tall piers in river estuaries. Engineers can also examine bridges and tunnels by getting underneath the road surface to check the drainage systems are still functioning correctly. And where structures – like the Orwell Bridge are partially submerged, diving is required to complete the tasks.

Taking into account all of the available inspection and testing data, Highways England is able to plan its maintenance programme to ensure all its structures remain safe. As key elements of a structure come to the end of their serviceable life, maintenance can be carefully planned to minimise disruption for drivers.

Over the next five years, Highways England is planning on spending over £4.1 billion on the biggest renewals programme it has ever embarked on. The plans include the renewal of 170 bridges and other structures.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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The Nuremberg Trials were the first of their kind. After one of history’s darkest chapters, they marked a reassertion of justice, human rights and accountability. They set a precedent for the prosecution of war crimes and genocide in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and others. And they led to the creation of the ICC.

History records the fact that Nuremberg paved the way for all the efforts to pursue justice that followed. This anniversary allows us to reflect on our history, while ensuring that history is not used as a political tool. It also allows us to holds a mirror to the lessons we have learnt, and the progress we have made.

Given the impunity we still see today, it’s a timely reminder of the need to recommit to strengthening international criminal justice.

The UK played a key role at Nuremberg, just as we have in the development of international law in the decades since. The struggle is far from over. We pledge to continue to bring an end to impunity for the worst crimes. And we do so in close partnership with every nation who shares those values and our collective vision of a safer and more just world.

The UK Government has launched a Europe-wide awareness campaign to help prepare European citizens for the implementation of the UK’s new Immigration System from 1 January 2021, and the launch of new routes on 1 December 2020.

Free movement between the EU and the UK will end at 11pm on 31 December EEA and Swiss citizens will no longer have the automatic right to live in the UK.  

The UK will introduce a new, points-based immigration system that treats people from all parts of the world equally, prioritising skills and talent over where a person comes from. 

Italian nationals who do not already live in the UK, or have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, will need to meet specific requirements and apply for a visa through the new immigration system, in order to study or work in the UK. 

The campaign, which has been translated to cater for all nationalities,  is set to run across various channels throughout November and into December, with a second phase planned for early 2021.

It encourages Italian citizens to visit the UK Government website where further information about how they can apply to work or study in the UK is available. 

Under the new rules, EU citizens will be able to continue to visit the UK without applying for a visa and in most cases, will be able to stay for up to 6 months. The changes will not impact the rights of those who have been granted status through the EU Settlement Scheme. 

Ambassador Jill Morris said:

“Our new system sends a message to the whole world that Britain is open for business. We want to continue to encourage top talent from around the world and indeed from Italy, to bring their skills to the UK. 

“We want to welcome the talented students from Italy who will no doubt benefit from studying at our world leading universities. 

“It’s important Italians know about how changes will impact them coming to the UK and I would urge everyone to take the time to see what they need to.” 

The awareness campaign will direct people to information about the changes on the UK Government’s website, which has been translated into Italian and 23 other different languages. 

Italian nationals looking to move to the UK after 31 December 2020 should visit gov.uk.

Notes  for editors

• Under the new system, EU citizens will be able to continue to visit the UK without applying for a visa and in most cases, will be able to stay for up to six months. Visitors may participate in a wide range of activities, including tourism, visiting family and friends, short term study and business-related activities 
• Information on coming to the UK after January 1 2021 is available here GOV.UK/MovingToTheUK
• The changes apply to all 30 EU and EEA countries and Switzerland. 
• Irish citizens will continue to be able to enter and live in the UK as they do now.