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Elliot, why did you choose an apprenticeship?

Whilst studying Construction in the Built Environment at Chelmsford College, we had a visit from individuals who were in their final year of degree apprenticeships at various companies; they presented the advantages of the scheme and their experiences. This inspired me to pursue work experience at Tamdown. Following the placement, I was certain that I wanted to seek a degree apprenticeship, having experienced the benefits of on the job learning whilst studying. 

Did you specifically want to enter the Construction Industry?

Yes, however I was unsure in which capacity (on the tools or an office-based position). Following work experience in working in the Commercial department, I was set that it was what I would pursue.

Can you give us a brief summary of your role?

My role within the Commercial department consists of reporting duties such as valuations, participation in key meetings such as PRR & Debt Meetings, communicating with clients, subcontractors & colleagues.  I also visit site regularly to communicate with the construction team to assess progress and provide support commercially.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to others?

An Apprenticeship Scheme is certainly something I would recommend.  The benefits of valuable work experience, learning and earning at the same time is, I believe, is unrivalled by other schemes.

Izzy, why did you choose an apprenticeship?

I chose an apprenticeship as it gave me the perfect opportunity to get a feel for what full-time employment is like, whilst also learning new skills and gaining new qualifications. I prefer learning on the job compared to in the classroom, so felt as though an apprenticeship was the best next step for me.

Did you specifically want to enter the Construction Industry?

I was unsure as to what industry I wanted to work in until we had a visit from members of the Nexus People Team at sixth form to talk about apprenticeships, which interested me, so I looked further into Nexus/Tamdown online and decided to apply. After being with the business for the past 16 months, I can definitely say I made the right choice to do an apprenticeship within this industry.

Can you give us a brief summary of your role?

I work as an apprentice administrator within the Health and Safety department. On a day-to-day basis I monitor and record the returns of safety alerts, toolbox talks, and Health and Safety Inspections, record minutes within meetings and other various tasks. As well as being heavily involved with our new training database, and our eLearning platform, ensuring that everyone is compliant with their training. 

Has the apprenticeship helped you understand more about the industry and importance of your role within it?

I would definitely agree that the apprenticeship has helped me gain a stronger understanding of the industry and the importance of health and safety within is, as I now have more of an insight into all the work that goes into groundworks, and this field of work. I also now understand how important health and safety is within this line of work, as some situations operatives can be put in can lead to bad accidents and incidents, so it is important to do whatever we can to prevent these from happening, keeping our workforce safe.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to others?

I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to others, as it provides you with opportunities to learn and develop skills on the job, and gain a head start into working life. You are able to learn and regularly practice skills within a real-life setting amongst professionals, which gives you great opportunities to network and take on a more practical approach of learning.

Jamie, why did you choose an apprenticeship?

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I finished my A Levels. I knew I didn’t want to go to University and an apprenticeship appealed to me because I knew I could get a degree whilst earning and staying at home.

Did you specifically want to enter the Construction Industry?
I did have knowledge of the construction industry before starting at Tamdown.

Can you give us a brief summary of your role?
I assist the Estimators by completing take-offs for all aspects of a groundworks as well as collecting material and sub-contractor rates to help put together an accurate tender.
Everyone has been really supportive. I like learning about contract law understanding about approved documents and health and safety regulations.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to others?
Yes, I would recommend doing an apprenticeship to others as it helps you get degree while also getting a good lot of experience as well as giving you a headstart in your career.

Nathan, why did you choose an apprenticeship?

I chose to do an apprenticeship because it provides the opportunity for tailored learning, the course I study at university is designed to fit the needs of my role and therefore directly applicable to my work. It also enables me to earn while I learn and gain hands on experience within the industry to progress with my career.

Did you specifically want to enter the Construction Industry?
I wanted to enter the construction industry as I have always been fascinated by the sheer potential the construction industry holds. Every construction site is different, the diverse working environments have always appealed to me.

Can you give us a brief summary of your role?
Within my current role in estimating it is my responsibility to calculate a Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for a tender submission. This involves collaborating with my team to measure the quantity and costs involved within the entire construction project across various factors such as: raw material costs, plant, labour, increased cost projection.

Has the apprenticeship helped you understand more about the industry and importance of your role within it?

Yes, doing an apprenticeship has allowed me to excel at my role within the workplace and progress with my learning at university. The mentorship I receive at both university and within the workplace helps me to progress at both paths as the content intertwines.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to others?
Yes, I would, for all the reasons I’ve previously mentioned.

We asked Jason about his typical week and what he enjoys most about his role…

“As a Contracts Manager, I work with a really wide range of people, whether they’re Tamdown professionals onsite and offsite, our valued customers, or the general public.

Every day and week is different… sometimes I am on site all week working closely with the Site Managers and teams to ensure quality delivery and the right commercial approaches.

Other weeks I’ll be supporting our Estimating team with tenders and programmes, and dealing with HR, labour or other items.

Working closely with the housebuilder site team, and dealing with customer care on sites is another area I get involved with, and I really enjoy this.

With the training and development opportunities I’ve had, I really enjoy paying it forward whenever I can.

Training others and bringing up the next generation is always really satisfying – helping them to find their areas of strength. I think by setting an example and sharing my experience I can make a difference, particularly to those in the early stages of their careers.

Working with so many skilled and diverse people is great too; the whole construction department is really supportive, as is the wider business. That support means we can deliver our best work for our customers and the public – I get real satisfaction from seeing a job done well.”

We asked Elliot about his typical week and what he enjoys most about his role…
“I have spent a lot of time shadowing and learning from the Site Managers on the sites I work across, they have so much knowledge and insight and some have over 30 years of experience, so I really enjoy asking questions and finding out how they approach different parts of projects.

Working through issues, such as unstable ground and level discrepancies, is part of my day-to-day tasks, and problem-solving like this is really satisfying.

When we start on a new site, I liaise with the Housebuilder’s team as well as our in-house pre-construction department to understand where the roads, homes, and other elements of the development will be. Setting out the pins and markers for this upfront is quite exciting, especially when you then get to see these built and become homes and communities for people.

I also really enjoy the mix of working on the site itself as well as in the site office reviewing drawings, programmes etc. It gives me a good amount of variety to my day.”