Assistant Construction Manager Review

I was immersed in a supportive and productive atmosphere and even though 10 weeks is a short amount of time I felt involved and was given adequate responsibility. The culture of Mace is appealing, the company events are exciting and all the people employed by Mace on my level were nice people who ensured I would enjoy my placement.

My colleagues were always eager to get me involved and to make sure I was busy and felt comfortable on the placement. The work which I did seemed to make a difference to some extent. Some of my colleagues were new to the project I was on and these people helped to make me feel valued more often than the existing colleagues.

I was greeted warmly by my line manager on my first day, introduced to the office and shown the work which i would be involved in. My regular meetings with my manager also helped to structure support and guidance which was thorough. My manager also gave me guidance and pointed me in the right direction of how best to get the most from the work happening on the job.

Due to the nature of the project I was often not too busy with specific jobs. However I was able to ask plenty of questions and study drawings so I could keep myself busy. There could have been a bit more structure and a plan organised beforehand to ensure I would have jobs over the 10 weeks.

I was given varying responsibility during my placement. Later in the placement I was given more responsibility as my colleagues trusted me to a greater extent and I understood the project to a greater extent. The more you put in to a placement of this nature, the more you get out so when responsibility wasn't present I was able to seek experience by liaising with sub-contractors on site.

I have learned a great deal on the placement, more than I feel I can appreciate at the moment, until I am on another project. I have mainly developed people skills, essential for being a successful construction manager and I can also apply some of the technical knowledge to my studies such as case studies.

The atmosphere in the office was extremely friendly. I always felt welcomed and accepted into the group. There was a positive working atmosphere which encouraged everyone to be pro-active and to support each other in the work to ensure the project could be completed on time, to cost and to quality. Although the office was 4 floors down in the basement there was always an incentive to get out on site, to get stuck in and to help one another.

The placement was set up in a structured and a well organised and professional manner. there were many cases were I was in the head office being trained or inducted in order to ensure I was up to speed with the company values and policies so that i fit into the work i was undertaking. There were plenty of networking events which were also organised to help relationships with peers to develop which is key within the construction industry.

There were a number of training exercises which i ad the opportunity to undertake. For example asbestos awareness courses and the chance to complete my training for my CSCS card. I felt thoroughly valued by the company as I was given the impression that it was an investment in the individual and there would be plans to retain the individual as a future employee. As a result I experienced a number of opportunities to develop my skills such as spending a week with a consultancy company which helped to develop and diversify my skills to help me be a more rounded engineer.

The future prospects with the organisation are very appealing. There is a structured graduate scheme which I hope to be part of and this aims to support you over the two years with the aim of promoting you towards the end. There are also plenty of support and guidance initiatives for student who are returning to university after a placement in order to maintain contact with the company to ensure there is an existing and lasting relationship before going back to the company.

There was a god social scene. this was in the form of work drinks potentially every other week with the project office I was within which there were two placement colleagues in a similar situation to myself. Also the networking events organised by the company at the head office meant there was always opportunity's to meet with the other students to share stories and to learn about the work which they were involved in, sometimes with the chance to visit their projects. The events such as the 'Race for Mace' also helped to ensure a social scene amongst students and employees.

I lived away from home but with family so i was able to commute into central London which was expensive but the company covered my travel costs which was encouraging. Also by living with family I saved a great deal on rent. With regards to the area I worked in, it was in the financial district of London and as a result was very expensive and I am not sure the salary reflected this. Socialising in London can be expensive but it was all part of the experience and I was lucky to be immersed in that environment to experience London as its peak.

The nightlife was always busy in the area I worked in. There were plenty of bars and clubs to socialise in and these varied in price but there was always a few options and somewhere which suited everyone's budget. There were many 'skybars' which added to the experience of working in London and along side the nightlife there was a very established food scene which allowed you to try different cuisines on a regular basis

There were opportunities such as the Race for Mace and other events for longer serving placement students such as volunteer days and sponsored cycles. If you were an pro-active person and made yourself prominent within the company then there would always be something to do and on a few occasions I met with colleagues outside of work to grow the relationships on both a professional and friendly level. There could have been more organised events and social activities at east every other week to ensure a creative and friendly working environment throughout the whole company.