Apprentice Quantity Surveyor Review

Creating and implementing cost plans, procurement and advertising, reviewing and negotiating change via contract admin, forecasting and cash flow management. Some projects I have been involved in: Road Improvements (old street roundabout), DLR Procurement, Northern Line Extension and LU Track Maintenance.

- Understand key contractual clauses and implement contract administration/management (managing CAMS through A-site such as CONCs, PMCs, PMIs, EWNP/EWNC and NCEs) -RICS Competency: Communication and Influence. -Gain Contract knowledge -Data management and collation / Organising -Variations; Understanding communications under the contract, Contractors communication, project managers instruction, early warnings and quotations. (Asite management) -Gain understanding technical scope of Project (How a roundabout is build -Understanding the Application for payment process and apply knowledge to process an application for payment.

Very friendly colleagues who come in different expertise levels and specialised areas, great opportunity to pick their brain and learn from them. Very good work life balance with flexible approach depending on the needs of your manager, team and their approach. I expected a more monitored approach but that's my expectations coming from school/college education, its up to yourself to get the most out of your programme by being inquisitive and keeping a positive and progressive attitude.

Programme is well organised, first 2 years are spent in 6 month placements to give us an overview of different areas in in quantity surveying, this could vary from procurement and tendering, to post contact projects. The final 3 years are spent in 1 year placements to gain experience for a whole life cycle of a project. Sponsors (usually a commercial manager) are assigned individually for any assistance or guidance we may need during our programme, this may be work or non work related. Training is provided by the company via E-Learning and classroom courses which you can sign on to yourself or recommended to attend by the employer. 3 monthly meetings are set up to discuss objectives and progression with line manager and sponsor to keep on track with development.

Managers are really supportive and are willing to set challenging objectives for your progression. HR team are always present for any questions and support. There is no official mentor system, we would be required to find our own mentor who we look up to and get along with. The general attitude towards supporting us in our placement is great only if objectives are set at the beginning of your placement to reflect progression with RICS competencies, if not, you can find yourself doing repetitive work with little progression.

The tutors at LSBU are great, they always give time for questions after lectures, also offering their office time for any clarifications on the lessons and without mention they are always on top of their emails so distance communication is excellent. I was made aware of DDS tests and examinations from my training provider and they have been great with providing after care skills support as requested, this includes writing, note taking and communication skills among others. They always look for the best and make you feel supported especially leading up to examination. Yes, i am currently enjoying my time at LSBU.

The first two years haven't helped me as much as I'd like to as they include generic construction modules and not geared towards quantity surveying particularly. For instance learning construction technology had no effect to my work as it consists of mostly commercial and contract management, however i believe it will be good for the future if ever i need construction knowledge. I do believe in my next three years is when my course will become more geared towards quantity surveying and the commercial side thus allowing for better implementation in my day to day activities at work. I feel i am understanding more about my industry from my first two years of my course, i can sense a more broader understanding of all facets of construction.

There are very minimal social events but it really does depend on the team you have been put with, some teams will have socials more often than others but in my experience socials have been generally put together on birthdays and leaving do's. At the end of the year and during Christmas the company departments put together very big socials to celebrate the progress the team/department has made together, this may include a half day sports event followed by food or any other ideas based ona voting system. There are various sports clubs at work which get advertise which is a great way for networking, such as 5-a-side football teams. There are also paid and rewarded volunteering roles that are advertised to help staff on the front line if there is an event which calls for more staff such as Winter wonderland, new years eve or big sports events.

Yes

This company has various roles and you can dabble into what you prefer or think gets the best out of you, as a quantity surveyor myself there are opportunities to work in very different projects which can be at different stages of a project life cycle, so if you prefer a procurement and tendering stage you can stay doing procurement roles or even apply for procurement jobs, similarly this can be said about delving into cost estimator, quantity surveyor, project manager or commercial manager. Plenty of scope to move into and an overall good work-life balance.

Be willing to be flexible in your approach to working and not be rigid as teams consist of people from various ages, backgrounds and personalities. Show you are passionate for helping the people of London by improving the vital transport system and also display willingness to listen, engage and act. Try your best to display TFL's competencies and skills such as team work, assertiveness, time management, collaborative etc during your interview and/or assessment stage and you should be fine.