Quantity Surveyor Review

I currently work on large Civil Engineering projects. So far in my career I have worked on HS2, Hinkley Point (Nuclear Reactor) and Silvertown Tunnel. On a day-to-day basis I usually manage many different subcontractor packages. This requires me to complete a number of tasks including payments, instructions and internal reporting. On certain jobs I have had to complete more specialized work such as claims etc.

I have completed my Level 4 qualifications and I'm currently undertaking my Level 5 and 6 qualifications. These should all be completed in the next 2 years. I also feel also though my communication skills have improved as this job requires you to speak with many different people in various job roles to sort out issues.

This programme can be challenging as you are not given a lot of time to complete university work. This means you need to make the most of your week block at university. I do enjoy the programme however as we do get support from the lectures at the education provider.

In the first two years you will spend 9 weeks a year focusing on the Level 4 work. You'll then complete you EPA and move on to Level 5/6. At this level you have 3 weeks at university and 1 week self study at home per term. This is where it can become challenging as your work load on site is likely to increase but you get less time to complete your work.

I feel as though the communication from the early careers team to the apprentices can be improved. There is quite a slow response time to emails and we are sometimes left in the dark when it comes to our time at university. We often have to ask our training provider for clarification.

The training provider are usually very good and give use lots of support for our degree. When we are at university, we have access to a lecturer most of the time. We are also given time to complete coursework while at university. This is helpful as if you get stuck you can ask a lecturer straight away instead of waiting for a response.

I feel as though most of the modules we are taught allow me to perform better in my role. For example, contract law was very useful as it allowed me to understand the different contract clauses. However, I feel as though some of the modules are not required anymore. For example, there are two modules in the degree for measurement and estimating, but in reality there is now a software which is more effective than the old fashioned way.

On my current project we have a few different sports teams. There is a basketball game every two weeks and a football match is usually arrange every few months. Moreover, as an apprentice I have been invited to many networking events and I have also had the opportunity to present at one of these events.

Yes

I believe that the company does look after its employees and some of the benefits you receive are better than some of the other companies I applied for. However, I do believe that if you want to be successful here you need to work hard and understand not everything will fall at your lap.

The main thing I would say is that you have to accept that your project may be far away from where you live and require you to travel. This happened to me when I first joined and I found it hard to adjust to living in a new place and also learning a new job.