Assistant Commercial Manager (Construction) Review

Management of Sub-Contract packages (trade, preliminary and consultant) in terms of assessment of interim applications/payments, change control and contract administration. Management of legal contract procedures for Sub-Contractors and Consultants working on the project. Responsibilities relating to client valuations in order to secure monthly income into the business and adequate cash flow.

I have developed the key fundamental skills of a commercial manager over the past few years, which provides me with the adequate knowledge of the duties required and the standard in which the industry expects them to be carried out to. I have also increased my negotiation skills, team working abilities and general skills such as patience and professionalism.

I enjoy the work which I am given in my 'day job', rather than feeling like the trainee or the apprentice, I have felt like an integral part of the team since a very early stage. Most of the Mace project teams which I have worked with are inclusive in the sense that they respect you as a fellow professional regardless of your age or experience level. Sometimes university can be hard to balance, but this is to be expected.

It is well organised. Most of the training offered by the Emerging Talent team is weighted more towards the first and second years of the scheme, and slowly tapers off in the third and fourth years which works well with the progression of experience/skills and also workload. It is clear where to go if support is required within Mace. As I have said previously, university can be hard to balance with my day job at times as well as other aspects of training and chartership which is expected to be done in tandem. But it will be all worth it in the end!

The support from Emerging Talent has been good from day one. The ET team is always keen to hear how we are getting on and are keen to resolve any issues with university if there are any. My only criticism would be that not enough consideration was made for salaries in the first 1-3 years of the scheme. I entered the scheme already having moved out of my parents house two years prior to starting the scheme. The salary was barely enough to get by for me, and I know others had the same issue. Only by just over three years in, the pay was increased to a suitable level. I know that many others had the same issue, and I feel that this should be more carefully considered in the future because: a) most apprentices are working/living in London which is very expensive in comparison to the rest of the UK; and B) not all apprentices live with their parents (or are able to).

My university has been supportive during years 3 and 4 in terms of making the requirements of the degree clear (grades, attendance, 20% off-the-job logging and MRICS); but before this in years 1-2 none of the requirements were communicated properly or were emphasised to the extent in which they are now made out to be. I have fed this back to Mace and the university so I don't believe this should be an issue going forward.

Its more the other way around to be honest. The work that I learn in practice (during my 'day job'), is much more reflective of the work in which a construction Quantity Surveyor / Commercial Manager would actually deal with. Especially given that I spend 80% of my working week on site, this naturally feeds into my work at university in which I spend 20% of my working week at.

Given that Mace is such a large company, there are many different social events and activities which employees can get involved in. Some are mandatory and others are discretionary. So depending on how introverted or extroverted you are, you should be satisfied. Post-Covid, a lot of these are accessible via Microsoft Teams which is great for people who may otherwise not be able to travel from long distances.

Yes

If you are looking to embark on a career in the construction industry, I do believe that Mace is an excellent place to start. As I have said previously in this review, the teams which I have worked in have been very supportive of my development and have treated me respectfully. The training program is well structured and sets you up for success. Obviously there are minor disadvantages and slight criticisms which I have mentioned in this review but I do believe that most of these issues have been either addressed already for new starters, or will be in due course. Holistically, the the apprenticeship programme is very good and I would highly recommend it.

Only apply if this is what YOU want to do. If you are not sure, do some research online beforehand, watch some YouTube videos on the role(s) which you are thinking of applying for. Bare in mind that you will not be expected to know much when you first start (which makes sense given this being an apprenticeship!), but you will be expected to be eager to learn and to have some level of enthusiasm.