Apprentice Quantity Surveyor Review

I am an apprentice quantity surveyor and my role involves looking at costing, forecasting, tendering and working with the contractors and other team members to keep the costs of our projects at a minimum, whilst also sticking to the contract and regulations.

I have learnt skills on estimating, how to use Asite and Sap, improved my skills on excel and also improved my ability to work in a team and communicate clearly.

I really enjoy my scheme, we have a great support team and many people to turn to, we are involved in so much and always feel included in the teams we work in.

TFL make me feel very valued, the responsibilities they give me makes me feel like I am contributing to the company, they will give out awards and rewards to show their recognition and appreciation of your work and my managers are always very supportive.

I think our scheme is very well structured, we have a clear team of people to support us. The 6 month placements allow us to experience many areas of the business and ensure we continue to develop and learn new skills. We have set days for studying with set locations making it easier to ensure people are where they should be, but they also ensured flexibility by having two locations and two days to suit our needs. There is a variety of training available to suit the project we are working on and more general business skills which help us to develop our knowledge and perform better in the work place.

The training provider can often be unorganised, some of the tutors try very hard to give us support and will always provide additional support if required, however others seem less interested and often do the bare minimum.

Our scheme offers a large support network to help us throughout our apprenticeship including a placement manager, line manager, scheme manager, apprentice support manager, buddy and mentor. Along with this other members of our teams and other apprentices are always willing to help and support us.

The salary covers all my costs and leaves me with plenty left over to save, the free travel also helps very much as it saves a lot of money.

There is plenty of opportunities to volunteer at events outside of work and there is often many social events within our teams, however there is not many opportunities to meet apprentices from other schemes.

Yes

It is a great company to work for, there are many opportunities available within this company not only during the apprenticeship but also after you roll off, there is a great support network and the structure of the schemes allows you to see a variety of different areas and projects. The pay and free travel are also an added bonus.

It is very important to be prepared, have a good knowledge on the TFL behaviours and competencies. Be confident throughout the interview and most importantly listen to others and show that you can work well in a team.