Insight Week Review

The insight week with Mace exceeded my expectations. Having the opportunity to visit a number of recently qualified graduates and experienced professionals. For example, when shadowing Lewis who is the assistant construction manager on the 24 story office block building at 70 Mary Axe. I am a first year Civil Engineering student and I had a lot of questions of which he answered enthusiastically in a good amount of depth. This put some of the work I have done into context as well as making me aware of what is to come so I can start researching further in preparation for my second year at University.

When arriving and picking up a security/access card, I was confronted by very friendly personnel who gave clear instructions to help myself find where I was meeting Hannah. All the students who were on the Insight Week put in the time and effort to be accepted onto the course, hence they were all keen to learn and were very easy to get along with. Hannah coordinated and organised the week to a strict schedule, with a variety of different professionals visiting and offering their experiences. This involved them sparring time in their busy day to make presentations and often making interactive challenges for us to be more engaged. Every member of staff was more than happy to expand on various points and answer questions (of which there were many!)

We were briefed by email describing what we would be doing over the week. On the final day, we were given CV tips as well as a 10-minute mock interview with quality and honest feedback. I wanted to gain a clearer understanding of the roles at Mace. The explanations of the professional's experiences with and prior to joining Mace helped clarify this, whilst also opening my eyes to new potential construction career paths.

The information gained on CV writing and interview skills will be useful when I am looking for summer placements. Also the advice, such as using various psychometric tests for challenges that I will need to overcome prior to a successful interview. Lastly, advice from the operation manager at Mace from Peter that has stuck in my mind is to be a " Doer " and keep pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to keep on growing as a person.

Hannah had a clear agenda of what she wanted to achieve for the four days we were there. This entailed an introduction to the company, followed by presentions from different disciplines such as project management, design management, quantity surveying etc. This helped answer my questions about the particular careers available to me. Also included were four site visits, such as Camden Lock Village with a detailed overview of each project, with additional presentations on i.e. Sustainability. There was enough time for breaks and lunch (which was delicious and free!), whilst allowing us to talk to current industrial placement students.

The overall atmosphere at Mace is a productive one, with smiles all round! From my short experience with Mace I felt welcomed and invigorated by their positive attitudes and tremendous work ethics. They are highly motivated and eager to take on huge projects and do so very successfully, for example, with the Olympic Stadium in London. It has left me more excited about my future career in Construction and ready to apply a summer placement at Mace.

Over the four day's we were given many powerpoint presentations from graduates and senior personnel, taking time out of their working hours to do so, We were also given lunch and were compensated for travel expenses to site visits.

Due to the duration of the time at Mace, it is difficult to judge exactly what it would be like working full time, however speaking to industrial placement students and employees at Mace it is apparent from hearing their positive experiences that I would fit in well.

Given their holistic approach to construction, there is such a variety of disciplines, from graduates with degrees in Drama to Quantity Surveying. This gives an improved learning experience and sets Mace apart from other construction companies. Mace are not afraid to be the first to do something, utilising new technologies and sharing their knowledge with the rest of the world to benefit everyone.

Before the Insight Week, I was sure I wanted to pursue a career in construction. Listening to the day to day breakdowns of a typical day I would consider starting within consultancy beforehand with the knowledge gained at university fresh in my mind ready for the technical aspects, such as in structural analysis. The site visit with Lewis, listening to his daily tasks and the amount of responsibilities he has, i.e. given it is his second project, he is second in charge on a huge commerical office buliding and explaine the sense of pride that he feels after each accomplishment on site.

We were reimbursed expenses when travelling to sites from Mace. Expenses from travelling to Mace from Cornwall and from where I stayed in Greater London were paid for by myself.

The employees at Mace come across as very sociable, happy to answer questions. A few of us went out for drinks at the end of the Insight Week. I had the chance to have the assistant construction managers phone number on the office building at 70 Mary Axe and was invited to come back at any time.

The staff a Mace often explained that they meet up outside of work and that they are not just colleagues but friends also. Exchanging numbers and getting to know other students on the Insight Week has proved helpful.

Mace are involved in charity work, with a voting system to choose which charity they are going to support over the year. Using fundraising such as sports events outside of work to raise funds.

Absolutely! Mace organised and ran the week whilst in the head offices at London with employees making powerpoint presentations for our benefit. This says they are willing to invest time and effort into you. The Insight Week was crammed full of activities to with no time wasted. I learnt a lot about the company and particular roles that I was unsure of beforehand, such as design management which is a project management role that requires interpreting designs rather than making them in itself.