It's National Apprenticeship Week and 2023's theme is “Skills for Life”. Premier Guarantee is proud to be doing just that by training the next generation of building control inspectors, whose skills are vital to the future success of the housebuilding industry.
But what does an apprenticeship with Premier Guarantee involve? We asked Ibraheem Danial from Harrow to tell us in his words.
My week is made up of one site day, a technical training session and a university day. The other two days consist of important admin tasks.
The site day consists of me shadowing a building control project manager, asking questions as I go and seeing the theory I learn in practice.
The technical training is an in-depth session where we look into the approved documents for a certain subject as well as our technical manual.
The admin tasks teach me the legislative measures of the role I carry out, so when I go onto site, I’m well aware of what to look for and I can give reasons why I’m looking for a particular thing.
From communicating to clients, conversing with site managers on site and writing letters according to legislation, I would say my communication skills have strengthened greatly and I’m consistently using these skills in my day-to-day life.
Many times as a building control surveyor you have to work in coordination with risk management surveyors and others. I believe my team working skills have been enhanced as well as my organisation skills, ensuring everything is done accurately and meets the deadlines we are required to work to.
Time management in this role is essential. You have to consistently log down CPD, the university system OneFile, keep up with notes and much more. During this role I can say my time management has greatly developed, as I now understand the accurate time frames I need to complete such tasks.
A lot of support. I’m enrolled into regular training sessions and I am able to ask anything at any time if I have a query. I’m provided with a learning and development portal in which I can complete the online courses which range from technical topics such as basements, to less technical topics such as email etiquette. I can also ask questions about any of my work. The surveyors on my team are always ready to help.
I feel greatly valued. Apprentices in the company are seen as the future of the company. We get our own monthly slot in the building control monthly meetings, where we talk about what we do in university and in work. As well as this I’m frequently asked if I’m ok and I’m always offered a helping hand if I need it.
Be yourself in the interview. The work environment here is very supportive and social, don’t feel you need to hide yourself.
Be open and honest about your skills and where you need help so the company can identify the specific areas you require training in.
Don’t worry if you have no experience in construction. I entered with no experience at all but this has been developed greatly since then.
Be prepared and organised. Coming into the workplace you will have to log all sorts of things in different diaries and other tasks. Therefore time management would be something you would need to keep in mind as well as how organised you can be in the day.
I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship. You have the opportunity to be employed and attend university, debt free. Unlike university were you learn mostly theoretical scenarios, with an apprenticeship you can also apply them into your desired role. A key thing why some university students do not get employed is lack of experience. When I finish university, I will have had 4 years’ experience in the industry. An apprenticeship is definitely worth it.
I would like to explore areas in which I could obtain a master’s degree in. After a while, with some years of experience and a greater expertise of knowledge in the industry, I would hope to take a managerial position.
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Every care was taken to ensure the information in this article was correct at the time of publication.