Make Your Mark
…you really can, with a career in construction. Whether you’re artistic, a problem solver, a born leader or good with your hands there’s a construction career path for you.
You’ll be part of something that changes the way people live – from building new communities to creating structures that excite and inspire. There are three main pathways to a construction career – an Apprenticeship, a technical support role or a graduate entry position. At bconstructive.co.uk you’ll find more case studies, job descriptions and a run down on all the qualifications; everything you need to understand the different pathways to a construction career. Here’s just a little taster of what you could be doing.
Katie Spencer
Landscape Architect
BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture
What encouraged you to join the construction industry?
…Making a difference to the landscape around me and making my mark on the environment.
What were you doing before?
I chose my A Levels with this career in mind. I chose a funny combination – art, geography and biology. All of my teachers thought it was strange, but I knew what I wanted to go on to do.
What do you do day-to-day?
I collect information about the area we’re working on – I have to consider it ecologically, geographically and culturally. I do site surveying, so visual impact assessments. At the moment I work on drawing up plans the partnership companies have fed us the information for, so I’m not designing but I assist the landscape architects with their designs.
Can you give an example of any recent projects you have been working on?
We’ve done the waterfront at Lowestoft and the broadening of the A11, also the Marina Gardens development at Clacton on sea.
Good bits about your job?
I really enjoy when we go out on site, but it’s the drawing and design work that are the best bits.
What surprised you about the construction industry?
I’d have to say the range of different people that you meet – they come from so many different backgrounds. We work with ecologists, architects and engineers and they all come from different places and different jobs, so it’s a very interesting mix.
If you were to recommend your job to someone else, what would you say?
Where would you like to take your career in the future?
I’d like to do more community–led design, projects that the community gets heavily involved in, so that they can have a say. They’re the more successful projects.
Want a degree without the debt?
Be inspired - get a scholarship!
Construction is the biggest, most exciting industry in Britain today. With the widest range of jobs and opportunities to progress up the ladder, a career in construction is the smart choice for people who want a bright future.
Here’s what an Inspire Scholarship will do for you:
1. Up to £9,000 grant to support you during your university years
2. A 10-week work placement with your sponsoring employer in the summer of your first year
3. Entrance to a competition in your first year that could net you another £1,000
4. The opportunity to leave university with an outstanding and much sought after degree
5. A good chance of a job with your employer when you leave university.
Inspire Scholar – Jacqueline Adu-Baffour
Jacqueline is being sponsored by ConstructionSkills and Carillion on the Inspire Scholarship.
What degree are you studying?
I am doing Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying at the University of Manchester. My course is a four year vsandwich course with one year out for an industrial placement. After that I come back to Manchester and do my third year and get a BSc in Commerical Management and Quantity Surveying.
Why did you apply for an Inspire Scholarship?
The scholarship will mean that I gain valuable work experience as well as financial assistance during my course.
Why are you attracted to a career in construction?
I thought getting a job or a degree in the construction industry was a great opportunity. Construction Managers put up something beautiful that can be there forever. You can see it, you can take people to the place and you can claim ‘ I was part of this building’.
What do you hope to do in the future?
What do I want to be? I want to have the title commercial manager. I would love to work on something big, like a stadium or a tourist attraction as long as it is huge!
Interested? Go to bconstructive.co.uk/scholarships2007
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