After almost 30 years in the construction industry, Stephen Marsden, Contracts Manager at ENVIROTECT, has reached an important professional milestone by achieving Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB).
For Stephen, however, this achievement represents much more than a professional qualification. It is the culmination of a career that began as a labourer in 1997 and has taken him through hands-on construction, site fitting and site management to his current role as Contracts Manager.
Over the course of his career, Stephen has worked across a wide range of sectors and environments, including healthcare, education, prisons, commercial buildings and refurbishment projects. His experience has also taken him overseas and, more recently, into the specialist world of RF and lead radiation shielding.
Stephen joined ENVIROTECT in April 2025, initially as MRI Contracts Manager, overseeing projects from site surveys and the preparation of RAMS through to coordinating deliveries and site labour. Since then, his role has continued to develop, with Stephen now also involved in coordinating lead shielding installations alongside his RF shielding projects. Reflecting on the experience he gained during the early stages of his career, Stephen says:
“I’ve always been very hands-on, and I think that experience of starting on the tools and understanding construction from the ground up has helped me enormously as I’ve progressed into management.”
It was this combination of practical experience, professional development and a desire to challenge himself that eventually led Stephen to pursue MCIOB.
Having struggled academically throughout his life because of dyslexia, Stephen was initially unsure whether achieving chartered status was within his reach. Rather than allowing those challenges to define what he could achieve, he decided to set himself a difficult goal and prove to himself that he could do it.
“I wanted to prove something — not to anyone else, but to myself. I set myself a goal I knew would be difficult and saw if I could achieve it,” says Stephen.
Before beginning his MCIOB journey, Stephen had already built a wealth of practical and management experience, supported by qualifications including Level 6 in Construction & Civil Engineering, a Level 7 Diploma in Site Management, an NVQ Level 3 in Occupational Health & Safety and SMSTS, alongside extensive industry training.
The MCIOB process itself took around six months. Stephen spent approximately three months writing, completing and reviewing his submission, followed by a further three months during the assessment process. He was asked to provide additional information in three areas before successfully achieving membership.
For Stephen, the result was particularly meaningful. Reflecting on what the achievement represents after such a long career, he says:
“Achieving MCIOB isn’t just a qualification. For me, it represents years of hard work, determination, and the overcoming of something that has been a challenge throughout my life.”
The experience has also given Stephen renewed confidence and enthusiasm for the next stage of his career. Reflecting on almost three decades in construction, he says the process encouraged him to recognise just how much knowledge and experience he has built up along the way.
Since joining ENVIROTECT, Stephen has embraced the opportunity to bring his wider construction and site management experience into a specialist environment. He particularly enjoys managing MRI projects and seeing them develop from the initial site survey through to completion.
Describing what he enjoys most about his role, Stephen says:
“I love seeing a project develop from the very beginning through to completion. You can walk onto a site at the start and think, ‘How am I going to pull this one out of the bag?’ Then you work through all the problems, coordinate the different trades, deal with the challenges and keep everything moving. Eventually you walk back onto that same site and think, ‘Wow, that looks amazing.’”
His move into coordinating lead shielding installations has also brought together different stages of his career, drawing on previous experience with lead installation alongside the broader project and contract management skills he has developed over the years.
For Stephen, there is no sense of reaching the end of his journey. Instead, achieving MCIOB has given him a renewed appetite to continue learning, developing and taking on new challenges.
He also hopes that his experience can encourage others who may have faced similar obstacles in pursuing their own ambitions. Speaking about what he hopes others might take from his experience, Stephen says:
“I hold my head high, and I can do it. I would like to help others achieve their goal.”
Stephen is keen to recognise the people who have supported him throughout his career, including Kev Hill and Davy Scott, who encouraged and guided him when he was starting out, as well Justin Middleton, Eddie O’Shea and Chris Clarke at M&O Group, where he spent more than 15 years and credits the company with providing valuable support, training and guidance.
He also gives particular thanks to Niven and Janine at ENVIROTECT for giving him the encouragement and confidence to take the final step towards chartered membership.
Almost 30 years after beginning his career as a labourer, achieving MCIOB marks another significant milestone for Stephen — but, as he puts it, there is always “the next challenge” to look forward to.
Stephen Marsden MCIOB
Contracts Manager – Envirotect Ltd