Commercial Assistant Review

1. At the moment I am in the estimating department as a Commercial Assistant. On a daily basis I help with the current tenders that we are working on. This includes measuring floor areas, walls, etc and then helping to price them. I have to ring subcontractors to ask them if they are pricing a job and if they are when they will be returning their quote. I interact daily with my team, as I have to update them on my schedule as on Mondays I have university and throughout the year I have additional training with Mace. I have worked on many project ranging from small tenders to helping with large tenders, I have to regularly update our square foot analysis document which shows us our profits and also how much a job has cost, we also use this for benchmarking.

1. I have developed my CAD and Revit skills while being at university as we have had assignments which we had to use these programs for. I have also used quickmeasure which I had not used before I came to Mace, this program is used for measuring our take offs. Apart from our external university course training, we also have communication training and other personal development training. Our internal training courses consist of furthering our construction knowledge by going to sites to see it in practice. Over the past 6 months I have learned so much and my knowledge on construction has grown massively.

1. I love my program,e, I can honestly say I think it is the best of its kind. you learn so much as Mace links its internal training with what we are learning in university so it enables us to understand what we are learning further and it helps us develop our knowledge as we can physically see what we are learning. Mace has picked the best team possible for the Quantity Surveying programme as we all get on really well and use each others strengths to our advantage in order to better ourselves and learn as much as possible. The company is very well cultured, and you feel very comfortable speaking to anyone at Mace and you feel like you can ask anyone for help as they understand that you are still learning. Mace has exceeded my expectations with both my job and my programme, it has the perfect balance of professionalism without coming across harsh and unapproachable. I thoroughly enjoy my programme and would recommend it to anyone looking to start a career in the construction industry.

1. I feel very valued by Mace, not only by my line manager and team but also from higher management and board members, as everyone makes a point of knowing who you are and how you are doing. we have regular meetings with higher management and board members to see how we are and how we are finding the programme in order for us to give them feedback. Subcontractors treat me as if I have been working at Mace for 20 years rather than 6 months which makes you feel like you are doing something right. AT the end of every year we have an apprentice of the year awards and dinner to thank us for all our hard work and to celebrate how we are doing and how valued we are in the company. My team trusts me massively and tries to involve me in as much as possible, at the moment I am very valued in estimating but I will be moving to Commercial Management in June.

I believe our training programme is well organized and structured. On the day of our induction we was given a welcome pack with a note pad, pens, the mace way book, our introduction to mace, our starter programme and also many more things that would be useful for helping us settle in. We have been given a mentor to help us with work and university. We can use our mentor if we are struggling with university work as well as having them as a guide to help us progress in work and build our confidence and help us network. We was also given a buddy before we started, this was if we wanted to look round a site or head office before we joined or if we just wanted a friendly face for when we first started. As an apprentice you are well looked after as meetings, training events and site visits are always well organized so you don't feel uncomfortable when you arrive and you also know exactly where you have to be.

I receive as much support as I need. Our training providers are very easy to approach and you can ask for. They give us all of our lecture slides so we are able to revise by our self as well as at university with them. I thoroughly enjoy university as all of our lectures are engaging and they try and help you achieve the best grade possible. Overall the university has a positive attitude towards helping us with work and to also teaching us. This is the same for any external training we have with Mace.

I receive as much support as possible from my line manager as he wants me to do well and succeed in my job and also at university. HR also provide as much support as possible, this ranges from university to just day to day problems which we have. My mentor tries to support me as much as possible, this is because everyone at Mace wants you to do well and if that means giving you more guidance or help they would rather give you more support than let you struggle. Overall Mace is very supportive and will guide you with anything and are always there to help.

At the moment I am living at home, so overall my salary is perfect for my life. My travel to university is paid for, so I am able to claim the money back which helps massively. My location at the moment is perfect and Mace does look at where you live and will base you on a job which isn't too far away so travel is made easier.

Each year we get a volunteer day, that we can use either through the company or if we want to use it for our own volunteering then we can. Mace also match any money raised for charity which is a real incentive for us to raise money. We get a discount with nuffeild gym which encourages people to keep fit and healthy. In November we had a global competition of who can walk the most amount of steps in order to get fit and raise money for Movember. At the end of every year we have a presentation about how the company has done and then we all go our for some food and a couple of drinks after, as a thank you from the company and to also socialize with each other. When I'm not working I either go to the gym or I revise or I am out with my family.

Yes

It is such an amazing company to work for and you get so many opportunities that you cant turn down as they do wonders for your job and also for your social skills as they are always encouraging you to do well and speak to subcontractors, clients and other members of staff. Mace also pay for all of your university and you have a job which enables you to work and learn at the same time.

Be as honest as possible, be yourself as this is how they decide which sector you will be in first. For assessment days don't be afraid to voice your opinion but don't be too over opinionated. On your induction day dress smart, be on time, make sure you look as professional as possible as you have a board member talk to you and you want to make a good first impression. Take any opportunity you are given as it shows you are enthusiastic and willing to work and you will do well in your job as well as they will give you more responsibility. I would like to have been told who else was going to be there incase they was in your assessment day group so it was a friendly face to find when you first get there.