'HS2 Elijah' nominated for national apprentice award

Congratulations to Civil Engineering student Elijah Twiss who is shortlisted for an award by the Institute of Highways Engineers.

22-year-old Elijah, from Rainford, is studying on a Degree Apprenticeship at the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment and sponsored by his company Arcadis.

He says studying at LJMU while working is the “best of both worlds” as he gets transferable skills from a job whilst also studying for a degree.

“I think it gives you get a much better picture of where the theory meets practice,” said Elijah.

The nomination by the Highways Magazine is for his outstanding work as a young highways engineer in varying roles on the HS2 project. In just a few years, he has been a site engineer, a quality control engineer and is now in a project management role on the £100 billion construction scheme. 

After attending sixth form in Rainford on Merseyside, his experience studying through the pandemic put him off the traditional university route. But the degree apprenticeship gets him to the same destination while earning a good wage.

Elijah, who loves rock climbing, drawing and reading, said: “I’m mostly speechless about this award nomination.

“I've been given a lot of great opportunities by the people I work around. I'm really lucky to have been on both the contractor and consultancy sides and had the support to keep knowing my knowledge. It's given me a lot of confidence.”

His manager at Arcadis said he wanted other young engineers to follow Elijah’s example. “I'm so excited to see what Elijah will achieve in his career and this recognition exposes the industry to Elijah and the fantastic way his brain thinks and challenges the norm. Our industry needs more Elijahs!”

Dr Ed Loffill, LJMU Degree Apprenticeship Lead in Civil Engineering, said: “Elijah has been an exemplary apprentice with us and it’s wonderful that his achievements are being recognised. Elijah embodies what an excellent route the apprenticeship can be and shows how apprenticeships can make a real difference to people’s lives in the UK."

The Highways Magazine Awards 2025 take place on September 23 in Westminster.