Apprentice Quantity Surveyor Review

No day at Mott MacDonald is the same. I work on different projects and different tasks on a daily basis. I work along side industry professionals and am able to learn from their experience and knowledge. I am responsible for smaller projects and assisting on larger projects. I work with Clients from initial design stage to construction stage, advising on cost and risk.

I am working towards a degree in Quantity Surveying and will be working to gain my chartership from the RICS to become a Chartered Surveyor. I undertake internal training courses within Mott MacDonald to improve knowledge on industry standards. Topic areas can be anything from Asbestos to Information Security. By completing day to day activities I am always improving and gaining new skills, such as communication, professionalism and team work. As a Quantity Surveyor we have to work with many other disciplines.

The programme is well structured, Sheffield Hallam give me the academic knowledge that I am able to apply at Mott MacDonald. Mott MacDonald have internal programmes that allow apprentices to gain skills you may not gain at University but may need in the work place. For example, presenting or report writing. The course has exceeded expectations and I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who wants to learn and earn.

The University and Mott MacDonald course are well structured and organised. There is a three way support system in place for apprentices, that encourages communication between management, student and university. It enables students to get help with workload etc if they are struggling. Task delegation within my team comes from the manager and there is flexible if you would like to work on particular projects, eg. schools.

In general, I have access to a lot of support from my employer. My manager is supportive of development and learning throughout the team, not just with the apprentices. As I am in a large team, I have much support from several industry professionals. I am not limited in receiving support from colleagues. I will often ask for support with uni work and they are more than happy to assist.

As a part time student, I am in university once a week. The day is full of lectures and seminars. The lecturers are happy to support students however is easiest, usually for myself it is via email as I will look at uni work over the weekend and in the evenings. If I have any specific questions, the academic adviser and course leader are happy to chat when convenient.

Everything at University and at work helps me learn and develop. I often apply the theory learnt into practise at work. The course is very relevant to my job role. I know much more from the industry fro doing the apprenticeship than I would full time at University. I learn better by apply theory. I have much more to learn but the progression year by year is at a quick rate.

I have attending many company events, we have a sports and social committee that arranges events. I ave attending events such as; York Races, Christmas Do at The Mercure, Summer BBQ, Sports Day and much more. This encourages internal networking between the many staff at Mott MacDonald across the UK. The events encourages us to move around the offices and meet new people.

Yes

I would recommend Mott MacDonald as an employee for many reasons; they encouragement to develop, offer a great work life balance, offer support and training opportunities, you gain an internal community feeling and you are able to move and travel between the offices and work with a wide variety of Clients.

I would advise any applying to Mott MacDonald to be yourself and work hard. Mott MacDonald employee people who they want in their teams and community. As an apprentice you won't have many qualifications or experience so individual personal qualities are key. I would try and show your personality in your interview and assessment day. I wish someone would have told me what great opportunities and training support Mott MacDonald has to offer for apprentices and not just graduates. Good Luck!