Trainee Quantity Surveyor Review

I really enjoyed my year out work placement with Kier as a trainee quantity surveyor. All of the colleagues on site where I was based were always happy to help me and give me advice on anything I needed. They also made sure I had plenty of work to get on with so I was not ever sat around bored.

My colleagues on site made me feel as though I was a valued team member and that my contributions were appreciated. By the end of the placement year my colleagues made me feel as though I was a vital part of them team and they tried to include me as much as possible throughout the year.

On site there was a Senior Quantity Surveyor and Project manager, both of these colleagues always had time to give me guidance on any work or task I was undertaking, when it came to university work they also gave me support wherever possible. As for the senior management team I did not receive much guidance however they were rarely on site and so I did not get to see them much.

At the very beginning of my placement I always had plenty of work to do all day as I was learning how to do different tasks and there was lots going on on site. Towards the middle of the year, about 5 months in my workload decreased a great amount as there really was not much happening on site and so some days I did not have much work to do. the last few months where site got a lot busier I then had loads of work to get on with again.

I feel as though I was given a large amount of responsibility for a placement student as the senior Quantity Surveyor would try and get me involved as much as possible as he also went through a placement year when he was younger, this meant he let me deal with clients from time to time and other high responsibility tasks.

I feel as though this year on my industrial placement as a quantity surveyor it has taught me so much more about the roles and day to day tasks that are involved with being a quantity surveyor, this will definitely help me when I go back to university and also when I become chartered as a Quantity surveyor

Everyone in the office got on with each other well and from time to time would have a joke and a laugh which meant that the day would go by a lot faster and there was not a day I did not want to go to work because of the atmosphere in the office.

I feel as though the placement was set up well as it was clear what I was doing and I was fortunate enough to work on a site very close to home which was ideal for me. As for the organisation, when I was getting all of my account set up with Kier it took me almost a week to even get an email account.

I was given plenty of opportunities for different training programs in order to aid my development whilst on my year placement. On site I also reviewed my performance with the senior quantity surveyor and then set objectives which I set dates for when I wanted to achieve these objectives and then reviewed this quarterly.

Future employment with Kier appeals greatly to me, this would be the ideal situation once I have graduated university. This year out with Kier has made me realise how much I would like to continue my career as a Quantity surveyor and if this career could continue with Kier then even better.

Yes, we had quite a few nights out with the site team which was nice and really helped me to get to know everyone better when I first started my placement. Further to this, when I was coming to the end of my placement year we went out for a few drinks sort as a leaving do which was nice.

I lived at home with my mum which was very close to my area of work so I'm not sure of the cost of living and the cost of socialising was what I am used to.

The nightlife was good where I worked, as it was close the centre of Cardiff.

Yes, I was given opportunities to play football and cricket.