Summer placement - Commercial Trainee Review

I did enjoy my summer placement, lots of exposure to work on site, I was a part of the refurbishment fit out company COMO, I was not aware they had a fit out company so it was really cool to do something different. site visits were great, my line manager organized a few site visits - Vauxhall gardens and Hanover square, really diverse prestige projects, it was great seeing the final finishes on some projects, for quantity surveying it was excellent I was based on site.

I was in two mace site offices, Aviva Headquarters and Elm house, both site teams were super welcoming and friendly, at first it was a bit nerve racking approaching senior people, but I was encouraged to ask as many questions as possible, my line manager definitely helped me feel like I was a part of the team and I was really getting involved.

Support and guidance was always available when I needed it, if I ever felt lost, my line manager would spare 10, 15 minutes to show me how to do things, although he was really busy, so it highly appreciated. If I ever had a problem I had no hesitation in asking him anything. I was also offered training sessions in the mace learning zone and attended a sustainability session over at head office.

As I was put on a project towards handover, during my first two /three weeks it was quite difficult to get involved. You really do have to push yourself and ask for tasks sometimes, even if they are not from your line manager, some days were busy others not so much, it really does vary on the type of project your put on and the stage. I have learnt an incredible amount, I managed to carry out valuations, assist with agreeing variations, and a lot on construction technology too, the Construction Manager was always happy for me to assist him with snagging and looking at defects which I quite enjoyed.

My responsibility grew as the placement went on, as you gain trust with your colleagues they begin to give you tasks, its important to be open and try things even if you make mistakes, I had no idea how to do a valuation but as time went on I improved therefore my responsibility increased

My summer placement definitely gave me an excellent grasp on applying theory to real life site experience, the skills I have learnt are transferrable to many jobs, my confidence has increased, and the way I communicate has gotten better, being on site allowed me to understand construction technology and how things are actually built so my textbooks at university will make a lot more sense now. The sessions I attended have given me dissertation ideas regarding waste management etc.

The general atmosphere was great, mace has a broad age group from graduates to senior older employees, everyone always has a good joke or a laugh when there is time to spare.

Very organized in regards to other companies I have heard of, I received a reply with in 3 weeks of applying, and a week after the interview was told my outcome, and the stages were very clearly laid out, I did find the assessment center quite tough so ensure you practice presenting and researching the company values etc. The induction day was a really good intro to the Mace Way, they show you possible career progression and exciting opportunities.

At this stage it was difficult to invest in my training as it was only the summer, however I think once you enter the graduate development programme they offer APC training to gain chartership and other training days at head office.

Appealing. I would like to join the graduate development programme and gain chartership, there are also opportunities to work abroad in an international office, which looks appealing to me.

Yes we organized drinks once, and it was really fun, the HR team also organized end of summer placement drinks which was very kind of them, with a few drinks free.

Central London so it was very expensive however being in London is a fantastic experience - lots of student bars etc.

It was lively but again expensive. But student bars were around the corner.

Yes there were volunteering opportunities such as Marathons but I did not take part in any, the year placement students hiked up Mount Snowdon.