'A week in the life of a quantity surveyor' programme gives students a vital insight into VolkerFitzpatrick’s Tame Valley Viaduct project
For the third consecutive year, our Tame Valley Viaduct site team in Birmingham hosted a three-day training programme entitled, 'A Week in the Life of a Quantity Surveyor'. The aim of the programme was to give students a real-life insight into the role, which will help aid them in their final-year dissertation.
Senior Surveyor Hayden Scarth, alongside Surveyors Ambah Ellis, Joseph Saunders, and Trainee Surveyor George Skelton, led the programme, which was attended by over 40, full-time, year three students studying Quantity Surveying at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Over three days, the team provided several workshops at the university and site visits for the students with project related tasks.
At the site, where the team are currently strengthening the existing Tame Valley viaduct, students got to witness first-hand the complexities of trying to work in and around challenging environments such as live roads, live railways, businesses, and rivers.
They also got to spend time in a mock-up box girder (the enclosed tube that forms part of the viaduct) and received a real-life demonstration undertaking an emergency rescue procedure. This enabled them to see for themselves the challenges of working in confined spaces. Students were able to see the real complexities and challenges of a live site.
The workshops and tasks set up enabled the students to apply their theoretical knowledge, taught at university, to a real-world project and gave them an important insight to the world of being a Quantity Surveyor. Tasks included understanding the process of procurement and creating their own tender pack, carrying out measurement activities for groundwork and civil works on the project and the process of administering compensation events and instructions to subcontractors.
Hayden Scarth, commented: "The 'Week in the Life of a Quantity Surveyor' programme not only provides the chance for students to meet an experienced and knowledgeable team, but also gives them a fresh, modern, and current insight into the world of construction. Our team - Ambah, Joseph and George - did a fantastic job organising the programme, ensuring it ran smoothly and that students were able to gain valuable understandings, to help in their final year at University."
Wayne Clarke, BSc Hons Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, commented: "At NTU, we would like to personally thank VolkerFitzpatrick for another successful year at delivering the 'Week in the Life of a Quantity Surveyor' Programme. We appreciate you giving us your time, access to site and arranging the Aston Tavern facilities for us, year upon year. Attendance has been great this year and the feedback from the students has been excellent with them all believing they have learned new skills, increasing their employability for their future career in the industry. They also commented on what a great opportunity it was to see a live site, meet the key professionals and ask key questions".
The programme keeps on going from strength to strength with this year offering the best experience yet with the increased access on the site.
