Managing hospitality operations often meant Emily worked long, unsociable hours, making it increasingly difficult to achieve the work-life balance she wanted while raising her two daughters.

Craving a change that would allow her to continue advancing professionally while fitting around family life, Emily discussed making the change with her spouse, who was already working as a project manager in the nuclear sector.

As they discussed their respective jobs, Emily began to recognise the similarities between project management and the responsibilities she already handled in her hospitality role.

Her experience managing people, coordinating activities, dealing with competing priorities, and keeping work moving was all familiar to her, and she considered whether her skill set could be transferred to project management.

Throughout Emily’s early career, she found considerable support that made the transition seem easy.

One of her first projects involved a framework for one of Amentum’s largest UK clients, giving her early exposure to both internal and external stakeholders. Emily was able to make immediate use of the strong communication skills that she had developed during her hospitality career.

While Emily found most of her skills transferred to her new role, she still needed to build up her understanding of an entirely unfamiliar industry. Amentum's New to Nuclear Academy played an important role in that process.

The programme gave Emily a foundation in the nuclear sector, while still supporting her development as a project manager.

Finding herself continually encountering new subjects and gaining knowledge, Emily’s new role in nuclear was fast-paced and presented a steep learning curve that allowed her to grow.

Rather than discarding her previous career experience and starting over, she was able to combine new nuclear knowledge with the transferable skills she already possessed.