"Giving back to the industry will give back to you, in strange and interesting ways you weren’t expecting" - #IamCIBSE


I am a Mechanical Engineer 

I am the CIBSE Yorkshire and YEN Yorkshire Vice Chair

I am giving back to the building services industry


Raymond Knights LCIBSE EngTech is a Mechanical Engineer at FHPP, as well as Vice Chair for the CIBSE Yorkshire Region and Young Engineers Network (YEN) in Yorkshire. We asked him to tell his story on how he entered the building services industry and what it’s like supporting the CIBSE Yorkshire region.

On getting into building services….
I fell into the building services industry by complete accident. I spent a year working on a building site as a site operative. As I was working directly for the main contractor, I worked with nearly every trade on site in some capacity and was introduced to most aspects of site life. I really enjoyed this job and decided I would pursue a career in construction.

From here I went into Leeds College of Building looking at Apprentice routes. By chance I ended up speaking with the course leader for the Building Services Engineering HND course who suggested that given my age and experience I would be better suited to the HND rather than doing an Apprenticeship. This was probably the best advice I’ve ever listened to and I have never looked back. If you’re reading this, thanks Mike!
It’s hard to say what the best part of my job is but I really enjoy the wide variety of people I work with. Most of the work I do is construction design so in one conversation I can be talking to members of the project design team and the next I’m co-ordinating site works. It’s great fun!

On being part of CIBSE…
I got involved with CIBSE in 2016 and was introduced by the YEN Chair at the time, Paul Binns. As the Yorkshire Region Vice-Chair, I’m responsible for supporting the Chair in all official duties, this ends up being anything and everything that is required of the committee.

General duties include chairing committee meetings and taking minutes, organising CPD events, organising social events, attending careers evening in schools and anything else in between.

Being part of CIBSE has presented a number of professional opportunities to me that have helped steer my career thus far. The key point is the number of people I have met, and contacts made, which would not have happened without being involved in CIBSE.

In November 2017, the CIBSE YEN Chairs and Vice Chairs were sent to Dubai for the International YEN Conference. This has by far been my highlight of being part of CIBSE. A close second is the CIBSE Yorkshire Awards where industry professionals from across Yorkshire come together for an evening of celebration. It’s a lot of hard work putting this event on, but on the night, we have a great time and get to enjoy a few beers and enjoy the festivities


What advice would you give to someone considering getting involved with CIBSE & YEN?
Just get involved! Don’t look at getting involved as a ‘what’s in this for me’ situation. Giving back to the industry will give back to you, in strange and interesting ways you weren’t expecting.


Fancy joining the CIBSE Yorkshire Committee? Contact regions@cibse.org
Find out what’s going on in CIBSE Yorkshire

The #IamCIBSE campaign aims to celebrate the dedicated and committed individuals working within the building services industry. Explore the #IamCIBSE campaign

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