Graduate takes up dream placement in New York

A University of the Highlands and Islands graduate has flown to America to begin a year long, paid placement with a global construction firm headquartered in New York.

Dyett Murdoch (27) from Culduthel, Inverness, beat off stiff competition to secure the opportunity at Turner Construction Company. Dyett, who completed a BSc in quantity surveying through Inverness College UHI last year, took up his position as an engineering assistant with the firm on Monday. He joins Turner’s 5,400 employees who work on more than 1,500 projects each year with $9 billion in annual construction volume.

The sought-after placement was set up by former university principal and vice-chancellor James Fraser and Turner Construction Company’s president and chief executive officer, Peter Davoren, with support from the university’s careers and employability team. Applicants were interviewed by Turner Construction Company staff over an internet video call.

Before flying out, Dyett said: “I feel very honoured and excited about being selected for this amazing opportunity. The chance to work in the most famous city in the world with a company as recognised and respected as Turner Construction Company is mind-boggling. The company is involved in many amazing building projects and I cannot wait to be a part of it and hopefully put all the skills and knowledge I learned at the University of the Highlands and Islands to good use. I am deeply proud to say I studied at the university and feel the support I received throughout my studies, especially from the programme leader Kate Hayes, was fantastic.”

Peter Davoren, Turner Construction Company’s president and chief executive officer, said: “We look forward to having Dyett join his new colleagues in New York and share his experience and knowledge with our project teams.”

Iain Morrison, the university’s dean of students, said: “Turner Construction Company is a global, highly prestigious builder of well-recognized projects around the world so they can take their pick of the world’s graduates. The fact that they selected Dyett not only reflects extremely well on his abilities, but also on the calibre of students being produced by the University of the Highlands and Islands.”