Trainee Construction Manager Review

I really enjoyed my placement. It was a lot of hard work, but gave me valuable skills and a good deal of responsibility.

I felt like a valued member of the team, as I was trusted to undertake tasks by myself, and hard work got noticed and commended by the team.

I felt like I had a strong support system, both from a mentor I interacted with on a daily basis, to the wider site team who would give advice and help in situations where needed.

I had a regular set of duties to undertake which kept me busy for the day. Only occasionally would the workload increase to the point where it was difficult to manage, but even in this, it could be adequately managed and spread out over time.

I was given a good deal of responsibility during my placement, once I had gotten to grips with the site and how it operated I was trusted to take on large portions of work. The workload never felt kike too much responsibility to handle, as projects given to me were always at a suitable level.

The skills I have developed o this placement will be extremely useful. In addition to team leadership, communication and management skills which I have improved on site, off-site courses were provided which have greatly increased my understanding of the industry as a whole, improving my effectiveness in my job role.

There was a great atmosphere in the office; Everyone was friendly towards each other and there was a sense of community, everyone could help each other. Due to the nature of the job, less time was spent in the office together than on site individually, but lunch times in the office would always be interesting and fun.

The placement had an extremely well structured system, at all times I felt like I was taken care of. I knew at all times how to contact the placement team, and felt no awkwardness in doing so, as they were extremely approachable and helpful. Working on site, I was eased into the job at appropriate levels, starting off shadowing a mentor, before being given more responsibility as time progressed, giving me a sense of being challenged but not overworked.

The company provided me with appropriate training modules that were not only relevant to my time here on placement, but would be of great value to my career in the future. My development was well monitored, with regular meetings with my Line Manager and Mentor to track how I was progressing.

Future prospects are extremely appealing, I am currently planning to continue employment within the company after university graduation. I already have a foothold in the company, many friends I have made here will be joining as well, and it is a strong company to work for, that have provided for me extremely well.

The fellow placement students from all sites regularly met up to go out for drinks, and are currently planning a trek to raise money for charity. The site team I was based at also held regular events such as nights out often, both formal and informal.

As I worked in Central London, close to Buckingham Palace, the cost of socialising such as going out for drinks after work, was very high, but that is to be expected of Central London. The cost of living in the area would have been too high, so I commuted in daily from Brighton, which was not cheap, but manageable due to support from the company.

Despite the price, the area had some fantastic bars and pubs, and cheaper areas were only a tube ride away. The team had some fantastic nights out both in the area, and around London in general.

There were a few opportunities, but not overly many. Generally social events were common, as well as charity fundraisers, but besides that the team did not regularly meet for other events.