Assistant QS Review

Have been incredibly fortunate to be on a site where the operations team , quality team, the site engineers , Health and Safety and commercial team are all in one office, creating a cauldron of information and learning. The site creates railway tunnel segments for a HS2 Tunnel and have been involved with contracts and payments to the suppliers along with a mix of site learning with the |Lifting team , batching team and production team. i could ask for more rounded introduction in to major civils works

I would say that my previous work life in finance and management has provided myself with a certain set of skills which this new role has certainly continued to develop and enhance. Being part contract management within the role it is a mix of subcontractor instructing and supporting, to be the relationship lead and to ensure that the contract is managed fair and it is not a tool to underpay if they make document error. This also supports how you manage when things go wrong and understanding of any ambiguities in the contracts comes to the fore

This is my first year in the apprenticeship degree scheme and it has been really enjoyable, i am slightly older than the rest but they is a good mixture of boys and girls from various companies and we all have created WhatsApp groups to help and discuss lectures and work to some extent. There is a real learning learning curve in the educational sense as it has a few years since I learned in an academic way but it is certainly helping challenge the grey cells and broadening my current knowledge and understandings

For the First year , i think it is doing a fair job, I think as a fairly new degree course that still has some room for improving but we have amazing learned tutors who are very open and we as a group have asked for extra support or ideas for improvement, it has been given or taken with appreciation. Each year our company supports us in being fore runners for the next generations and lessons learned to improve what comes behind us not only in what we build but in the apprenticeships, education and social standing we are all measured in.

My Line Manager is and was a major supporter of myself in providing the right environment that I could go for the degree apprenticeship and am really thankful he did as it is becoming something I had not realised I was missing. I will always stand up to be counted and hope I will make him proud of what I have yet to learn and become in he industry.

I think this is a bit early as am in the first year , but all the lectures and my Apprenticeship Coach are all very supportive, i think the university course leader is a support structure that will grow as i think as we are distance learners there is a focus on who is at the university full time, but hope that suggestions of visits to the university is not just a tick box act for lectures but to be invited to be part and join in university events as they say your university life is where you make friends for life. Having a few days where as a year group we can learn from the full timers and find our own way of support be it early morning coffee and breakfast learning and early to bed - or- late start with pizza and late night learning.

This again is a developing question, and in the first year it is the foundation and understanding of the basics, but you can see glimpses of how the qualification will certainly improve your performance in your role by providing knowledge and confidence to understand or challenge. But i would hope to certainly feel that the qualification in years 3 and 4 has a much more pronounced performance role in my day to day work.

Across the company as a whole that are a myriad of in work and off work activities that are designed to improve our team and company social skills and supporting the movement of positive mental health or independent times to be able to talk to colleagues. In my office I have already played 5 a side , laser quest and couple of rounds of golf and there has been other meals out and evenings after work

Yes

Without a doubt, I would hope that I do not leave this company now until my retirement, the basics and benefits provided by the company are fantastic and the opportunities to develop and grow are amazing, the fact that they see potential and have backed that with allowing me the access to the degree apprenticeship in me is something I wish to repay with my commitment to them

Just do It - the support within Balfour Beatty is brilliant and there is so much potential within the people who make the company what it is , I can only see good things to come. I think to be part of some of the Uk's major infrastructure projects is very special and to be able to look back and know that you were involved in that in some small way will leave the future generations a lasting legacy to build their future society on.