Trainee Quantity Surveyor Review

I am a trainee quantity surveyor and I am in charge of paying subcontractors and making sure we get paid by the client. I create the smaller subcontracts and read the larger ones to make sure the subcontractor is applying for only stuff he is entitled to. I also fill out monthly cash sheets that are sent to head office for review.

I am getting a degree at the end of my programme and will be carrying on training towards chartership which I hope to acheive 2 years after I graduate from Uni. I also did a first aid at work course which took 3 days that LOR paid for meaning I am now a first aider on the site I work at which is good experience.

The programme is good and we go on yearly trips with other members of the programme so that we can talk about our projects and any good/bad experiences we have had. These trips used to be every 3/4 months but were cut down (probably to save money) however all of the cadets feel these would be more beneficial if we had them every 6 months rather than yearly.

You are progressed later on in the job but in the first three years you dont tend to feel like an individual you are more an "employee" to them and they dont talk to you as much as they should. Colleagues on site are friendly and helpful and try to get you as much experience as possible which is good for progression but higher up the business they arent as face to face and dont know your needs etc.

The programme is well structured with course leaders who regulary check up on uni grades and how people are getting on, although I do feel they dont know everyone personally and this is something that could be done better. Also they dont describe how progression in the company is done or when to expect promotions etc and this puts off a lot of people

the support from the training provider (uni) is ok but isnt anything great. The uni organises lectures in which the lecturers are often rude and dont want to help. We have had numerous meetings with the uni and they have not improved. Fortunately I am leaving this uni and moving to another one this septmeber meaning hopefully the other uni will a lot better and hopefully the lecturers are better.

My employer pays for all of my uni fees and travel to and from uni which is good as it means we arent left out of pocket. we are given training plans and yearly reviews to help us progress and to get more experience. This is helpful as it means we know what we need to improve on and other areas for improvement. the only downside with this is that the targets are set once a year meaning if you move projects half way through the years the goals may not be relevant.

All travel costs are reimbursed which is good as it means you do not have to pay for this yourself as the trains are very expensive. However the basic salary is very low and the first pay rise we got was very small and seemed as if all of the hard work we had put it was for nothing as we arent appreciated as well as we should be. LOR need to understand that more than 45 hours of hard work a week is worth more than £15k a year.

There was a charity rugby match a few weeks ago which was done to raise money for a charity. other than this I havent heard of any other things outside of work other than a few after work drinks. It would be nice if LOR organised a few more events throughout the year to get people to team build and to let off some steam as a lot if people have stressfull and busy jobs. All LOR employees have to do 1 day of voluntary work per year to help the local comuunity and this is good as it gets the local community involved.

Yes

Overall I would recommend LOR to a friend but I would make sure they are aware that the hours are long and for the first 5 years the pay isnt great. Quite a few people leave due to money and this is something LOR need to address otherwise more and more people may leave.

The application process is online and involves maths tests and other verbal/non verbal tests. After this you have to have a telephone interview where they talk to you about your lifestyle and why you want to work in construction etc. After this you have an assessment day where you are assessed when carrying out group tasksand following this you have a singular interview where you carry out a presentation to an assessor. if this process goes well then you will be offered a job.