A Scots-born construction chief has revealed how he built his global career in quantity surveying on a childhood love of Lego.

Murray Rowden, originally from Dumfries, told graduates at Glasgow Caledonian University how his early skills with toy building bricks "made sense" when he later opted against accountancy and banking for construction, as he was presented with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering.

Mr Rowden, 50, is now Turner & Townsend global head of infrastructure and managing director North and South America of the firm which has more than 5,000 workers and a £500 million a year turnover.

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He said: "I was into Lego and it was a competition for South West of Scotland and I came runner up in the under-10s.

"From that point, I was always into that kind of classic construction toys.

"I actually only applied to one place and one course."

He managed to get his break in work when a lecturer recommended him to Turner & Townsend in Glasgow and cites a key project as the £4 billion Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

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He said: "What I want to do is really get the message out there that you can build strong careers in an innovative industry, you can travel, and you can get involved in massive projects, wonderful projects around the world that do make a difference to people’s lives.

"In terms of what makes a successful company and the ingredients associated with that, for me I would reference back to connecting into the industry, all the industry players, help shape an industry that is attractive for people to join, and that is the key, working with academic institutes such as GCU."