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In July 2024, Joni Playdon, a pupil from Lady Hawkins School, participated in a 1-week placement with our Highways Team in Brecon. Here is an excerpt from her diary:
Day 1
I was greeted by Phillip, the highways area manager for south Powys, and had a very thorough induction which ensured I was safe in the workplace. After this I was 'ready to go' and was issued with a hi-viz vest and some steel toe capped boots.
I spent the afternoon with the area highways inspector who explained the Powys Highways Maintenance Plan. This sets out when roads need to be inspected so the Council can pick up defects and make sure they are safe for the public.
I also learnt how Council money is allocated to budgets for everyday highway tasks such as repairing potholes, cleaning drains, cutting grass verges, digging graves, repairing car parks etc. This comes out of a 'revenue' budget which is from money raised from council tax. I learnt that bigger projects such as road resurfacing comes from a 'capital' budget which comes from money direct from the government to Powys council.
Day 2
I had an interesting morning doing administrative duties with Libby. She showed me how timesheets are used to cost work to budgets.
She also explained how materials, goods and services are purchased.
In the afternoon I assisted with a road inspection and inputted data onto a tablet, recording the condition of the roads and raising 3 defects.
I learnt that the roads are repaired in 3 main ways: pothole/small area repairs, surface dressing (adding a new top layer section to improve its lifespan), and a complete resurface.
Day 3
I spent the day with David and Vincent, 2 area inspectors, who were carrying out inspections on A and B roads and I inputted data for them on the tablets. We also inspected drains and pipes that go under the road to make sure they were not blocked.
We travelled 132 miles in total - I cannot believe how big Powys is (and we only covered a tiny portion of it)!
Day 4
I joined Carl and his resurfacing gang who were completely replacing a section of road. I saw them lay the new tarmac (from a safe distance away) and this was fun.
I then joined the area inspector to re-visit the broken cattle grid which we found on the inspection on Tuesday. We met operatives on site to discuss its repair.
Later I joined Jonathan from the Engineering Team to visit Brecon High School to look at the games pitches he had designed. We met with the ecology officer and an outside contractor to discuss how the field was to be maintained.
Day 5
I visited sections of road which were being recommended for surface dressing and helped take measurements of the road lengths and widths and helped calculate costings.
I have really enjoyed my week at Powys Council which has absolutely flown by. I was so unaware of the number of things the Council looks after and maintains - and that's just the highways department! I found all the staff really helpful and kind and they all went out of their way to answer my questions and keep me safe.
This week has really opened my eyes to the number of wide and varied job opportunities a county council can offer.
If you would like to find out more about work experience opportunities at Powys County Council, we would love to hear from you. Fill in our application form and one of the team will be in touch.
