The journey brings us together

I ended up at TREV-2 through a series of coincidences, to be honest. My previous company, where I worked for six years, had been forced to take on seasonal contracting work because of the recession. But my ambitions were bigger than that, so I was open to offers. A former colleague sent me a link to a job offer back in early 2011 – a company was looking for a site manager. I thought, why not apply, give it a shot? It’s not like I had anything to lose. So I was called in for an interview, and since it was only the second job interview I’d ever had, I didn’t really know what to expect and I guess I was pretty backward in coming forward. A couple of weeks went by until I got a call saying they’d picked me. At that point I had two offers on the table – the work my then employer was offering me and the position TREV-2 was offering me. I weighed up both, but in the end I went for the new challenge. I remember that the very first project I worked on was a bike and walking track in Tallinn that was only half-finished from the previous autumn. At first I found everything quite hard, but looking back on it now, joining TREV-2 was definitely the right choice.

I’ve been here now for nine years. To my mind it’s a company that cares about its workers and their development. It gives you the chance to realise your ambitions, and to work on the biggest and most interesting road construction sites in the country. The team’s really great, too – very friendly and very much into their work. When you’re all aiming for the same result and you’re all working hard to achieve it, there’s nowhere else you’d rather work. 

My day-to-day work is pretty varied, actually. All the sites and issues and situations I have to deal with and sort out are different. And they can be all over the country, too, so it’s a great way of discovering new places. I have to talk to a lot of people, and I often get the chance to work with real specialists in their fields. The best feeling is when work’s completed on a site – every time you drive past it, or even more so when you actually drive on it, you get this sense of pride that you had a hand in it. 

To be the best road builder or engineer you can possibly be, you have to be bold, ambitious and determined, but also diplomatic and willing to learn. You can always tell a seasoned engineer by the twinkle in their eye – they put everything into their work and really love it. You have to be ready to learn new things all the time, too, and run with innovative methods and stuff.

I’d definitely recommend joining us here at TREV-2, because we’re the biggest road construction company in the country and we work on the most interesting and most prestigious sites. And everyone who works here knows they’re a vital link in a much bigger chain.

Some of my friends were already working in road construction, which is where I got the idea from to go and learn it myself. I enrolled in Tallinn University of Applied Sciences in 2008 and ended up getting an internship with TREV-2 (or, as it was then known, AS Põlva Teed). It started with me working on the roads, where I was mainly assisting with stuff – putting markers in place, shovelling, raking, that sort of thing. By the end of that summer I was already being given other stuff to do, like marking out the site. After a second internship with them the following summer I was given an open-ended contract as a site manager, and I’ve been a project manager on road maintenance projects since 2014.

I like working here because the team’s so nice and so supportive. I get the chance to put what I’ve learned into practice and to prove myself. I’ve been working here now for 10 years, but I still learn something new every day. The perks and the training they offer are extra motivation, as is the chance to work your way up in the company.

Since I’m a road maintenance project manager I do work with computers, but I still go out onto the sites of course. I put together price offers, deal with clients and organise the work on the site. What I like most about my work is that it varies so much – I get different things to work on and different problems to sort out, and I’m always meeting new people. 

The most important qualities in working here are definitely a desire to learn new skills and the courage to ask for help and advice when you need it. You’ve got to be a good communicator, too, and be willing to take on new challenges.

My colleagues are really friendly and helpful. If I have a question or a problem or something I can’t handle on my own, they always chip in and help me solve it.

I’d definitely recommend TREV-2 because we’re one of the biggest construction companies for roads and infrastructure in the country. We develop innovative solutions, which is really interesting. The company offers additional benefits as well, and training, and gives you the chance to work your way up the career ladder.

I joined the brilliant team at TREV-2 almost nine years ago when I started designing traffic control schemes for road construction projects alongside my studies. For me, as a student, the work was ideal – most of it I could do whenever and wherever I wanted. It was the great team and the exciting challenges that kept me with the company. Over the years I’ve done a variety of jobs, including head of traffic control for road construction projects, purchase manager for traffic control materials and now sales manager.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking that nine years is a long time with the same company, but then I think of the great people I work with and the exciting challenges the job poses and how long I’ve been here doesn’t seem all that important.

There’s no routine to my day-to-day work – every day’s at least a little different from the one before it. What I do depends a lot on the season, with more budgeting work and more offers being made in winter and spring. In the lead-up to summer the emphasis shifts to supplying materials and dealing with clients. Most of our suppliers are based in other countries, so visiting them or them visiting us here in Estonia is part of my job as well.

If you want what you do in road construction to turn out well, and you want to enjoy doing it, it’s important to understand that what goes on in the field of construction is influenced a lot by seasonality. Winter’s normally quiet and relaxed, but the period of construction that follows is always intense. You’ve got to be able to spot problems the moment they crop up, too, and take an interest in making sure they’re dealt with straight away. Time management’s really important as well, but that at least is a skill you can learn.

The place you work is influenced the most by the people you work with – if you get on fine with them, nothing else is ever really a problem. That’s something I consider important, and one of TREV-2’s strengths.

The company has a really professional team, and since it’s one of the country’s biggest builders of infrastructure, it offers exciting challenges and opportunities for self-development.

I’ve been with TREV-2 for more than a decade now, and it’s been an exciting and challenging 10 years for me, during which I’ve learnt a lot. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to work with so many interesting managers and so many inspiring people.

The thing I consider most important in my work as the personnel manager here in the company is the ability to see things from both the manager’s and the employee’s point of view and to offer my support to both. For that, more than anything else, you have to be able to empathise with people and they have to know they can trust you.

The thing that motivates me in working here, that drives me the most, is the people, plus the challenges and the exciting new projects we get to work on. In my position I get to have a say in the development of the organisation and to support people’s personal development, and I’ve learned a lot and have myself come a long way from doing both. Every change you implement that turns out well gives you the impetus to introduce further changes.

To anyone who’s only just choosing which career path to take I can certainly recommend TREV-2 as an employer, since it’s a growing, progressive company with a long history and lots of experience behind it. It’s a workplace that will provide you with opportunities and a supportive team whether it’s your first job or you join the company higher up the ranks to further your professional skills and standing. 

The people here at TREV-2 are warm, friendly and always there to help. That’s one of the main reasons my 10 years here have gone by in the blink of an eye. The biggest plus, on a day-to-day basis, is that working in such a big organisation – we have 400 employees at any given time, on average – and one that operates in such a diverse field means that no two days are ever the same. That keeps me going and keeps me on my toes as the personnel manager.