Apprentice Building Surveyor Review

My role involves assisting a range of commercial clients with the building and project consultancy requirements including undertaking inspections, preparing reports and giving advice for different buildings. Service lines include contract administration, project management, dilapidations consultancy, schedules of condition, licences to alter, technical due diligence, planned maintenance programmes and feasibility syudies, among others.

I have learned many technical skills such as defects diagnostics, design and specification, project management, maths and cost management, inspection technique and others. I have also learned and developed a range of soft skills like leadership, public speaking, presentation, IT skills, written and verbal communication, negotiation and problem solving, among others.

I have enjoyed my programme a great deal over the full 7-8 years from Level three through to degree level. It has given me access to many opportunities and spaces I would not otherwise have had and allowed me to grow both professionally and personally and achieve all of my aims and objectives with support.

The programme is very well structured and organised. This has developed and improved greatly over time, as the programme was is its infancy across the industry when I began but it has grown to become a very coordinated and regulated pathway with clear milestones, support structures and steps to follow throughout.

I receive a great deal of support from my employer in eth form of education and training opportunities, financial support and education, a comprehensive benefits package, a dedicated programme support team in HR and training, a fixed team and line manager structure to allow for mentoring and day to day support and training and ongoing access to mental health and wellbeing support within teh business and externally.

My training provider was broadly very supportive with great and knowledgeable tutors and lecturers, as well as flexibility and support provided for the apprenticeship pathway specifically. Students regularly had opportunities to seek and gain feedback on their work and ways to improve and wellbeing support systems were in place for mental health support

My qualification (through my training provider) helps me perform better in my role by giving a good basis of theoretical knowledge and skills to be applied practically in my day to day role as an apprentice. While the start of the qualification focussed on residential topics, toward teh latter half, focus shifted to commercial which is more relevant to me.

There are many, many extra curricular activities to get involved in at work both internally (through working groups, committees, fundraising, sports, though leadership and networking) and externally through the RICS Matrics committee and large numbers of local and national networking groups available to surveyors. Writing articles and blogs is also another way to get involve in an extra curricular way.

Yes

It is a great company to work for with good support structures and networks. There is a culture of nurturing young talent and internal progression and it is generally a nice place to work and contains good people to work with and for. Savills is the kind of employer that rewards hard work and you get back what you put in.

Tips or advice I would give to others applying to Savills are: to have a genuine interest in the industry, show a willingness to learn and get involved as much as you can, embrace entrepreneurial qualities as they will generally be encouraged and rewarded and showcase your own unique background and perspective when applying for any role.