Assistant Commercial Manager Review

I manage the commercial side of various packages such as Soft Landscaping, External Works, Temporary Services, Firestopping, Signage and more. This involves sending instructions, completing valuations, assessing variations and updating commercial documents such as Interim final accounts. I am site based so walk site everyday too to assist my learning.

I have learnt/developed so many skills since starting my role, mainly my communication and analytical skills. I have learnt how to use many different communication forms and how to commute with different colleagues etc. clients and subcontractors. My analytical skills have also increased a lot commercially to ensure I complete my role to the best of my ability to achieve value for money.

I thoroughly enjoy being on the apprenticeship programme and would recommend it to anybody. Not only do I have the advantage of learning onsite alongside my degree, but we also have internal training sessions from industry professionals on a variety of topics from presentation skills to technical construction training. There is a lot of support too if ever needed.

Each 'year' of the programme is from September to Septemeber, with my university starting in October for one day a week. The course is very well structured in that we are made aware of our university day at the start of the year, and provided with our internal training programme from HR so we can see in our diaries when our training is for the upcoming year.

There is a lot of support provided and always someone to ask if I ever need help. We have line managers, apprentice 'buddy's', HR apprenticeship team, and multiple internal documents that will provide any information required. Any issues I've had have always been resolved straight away and the general attitude to helping apprentices is very positive.

HR within Mace are very helpful in ensuring our external qualifications are meeting expectations and host many reviews for us apprentices to raise any concerns we may have. The university lecturers are easily accessible via email and can set up meetings on request if we need help on something.

I find my qualification very useful in that we learn a lot of base construction knowledge that we may miss/not see through working in the industry, perhaps because of the type of project we are on e.g. my project is a steel frame but university also teaches about concrete frames. We also learn about Law and Economics which is very helpful in day to day working.

There are lots of networking events available and volunteering opportunities to take part in. We are all given one day a year to partake in volunteering activities. My sector also hosts sporting events days where we raise money for charity.

Yes

I have never had any issues working at Mace and there are lots of processes in place such as reviews with HR/line managers that ensure we are happy in our roles and if we require anything. There are many perks of working here and I have been able to work on some very exciting projects that I am hopeful will continue in my time here.

Know Mace's values and projects and align your personal values and interests to these so you can discuss them in your interview.