Course Title Level 6 Chartered Surveyor (QS Pathway) Degree
University Nottingham Trent University
Course Duration 5 Years
Course Delivery Day Release
Why did you choose to become an apprentice?
I chose the apprenticeship route after sixth form as I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do when I finished my A levels. What I did know is that I didn’t want to go to university, accumulate lots of debt and then finish my course still not knowing what career to pursue - that’s when I started looking at apprenticeships. My dad started his career with an apprenticeship, and my older brother has just finished his apprenticeship, so I knew first hand the positives that can come from learning on the job, whilst still getting paid - for me it seemed like the natural choice.
How do you combine your work and studies?
My apprenticeship consists of 4 days a week at work, and one day a week at university. As the course has progressed I have found that the topics being covered become more and more relevant to what I’m learning at work. This makes it easy to stay motivated with my studies and allow me to apply what I’ve learnt in college over to my typical day at work.
What does a typical day consist of?
My typical days are diverse filled with things like sub-contractor payments, assessing applications, issuing payment notices, signing off invoices for payment, raising Letter of Intents and Sub-Contract Orders, pricing variations, site progress photos and reports, meetings with Main Contractors and Sub-Contractors, cost reporting and forecasting. There are a lot of different aspects to my role which helps to keep things interesting.
What opportunities / progression have you made / taken advantage of already in your career?
I joined DBS in 2020, and considering I had no prior knowledge of what it was to be a Quantity Surveyor, I am very proud to now be independently acting as a Quantity Surveyor on jobs in excess of £6.5 million. I am also a Route Panel Member for the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE) Apprentice Panel where I represent the employer voice in the Construction Industry ensuring that Apprenticeship Standards and T-Levels meet the needs of employers, apprentices and the economy. I really didn’t think it would be possible to progress this quickly - it is great to have gained the support of DBS and to be trusted to work so independently at this stage in my career.
How do you hope your career will progress in the future?
I’ve still got another couple of years of my apprenticeship left to go so at the moment I am staying focused on finishing my degree and feeling confident that I have learnt and applied as much as I can to my work.
What do you like most about working at Derry Building Services?
DBS is a great company to work for, everyone is so friendly and always happy to offer help and assistance when I need it. As an apprentice its important to ask questions, and luckily everyone is on board to help me when required, regardless of how busy they are. Although I am primarily based at our Birmingham Office it’s nice to have a good relationship with people from the Newark office too, going over to head office is never daunting when you have friendly people to work with!
What advice would you give to anyone considering an apprenticeship?
If you’re considering going down the apprenticeship route, I would definitely say go for it. My apprenticeship has helped me grow in confidence, given me more purpose compared to how I would have felt being a full time student at university, and of course we get paid which is always a bonus. You have to be prepared to put the effort in, but if you can find a company that matches your efforts and provides you with opportunities like I have it is definitely worth the early mornings and hard work.
