What’s life like as a management trainee? Discover first-hand experiences!
Thinking about our trainee management programmes at Wates?
Wondering what the experience is really like? Well, discover first-hand insights from those who’ve been there and done it!
Amelia, Building Services Management Trainee for SES
My name is Amelia Bleasdale and I’m a trainee for SES.
I’d say no day is really the same when working in construction. You learn so, so much, and you get to meet so many different people. Usually I’m working alongside the subcontractors and the operatives on site and also the design teams, making sure that all the drawings are in, all organised and everything like that, and there’s no clashes so that there’s no issues when we actually get on to site.
I love being able to see the tangible results from all the work you’ve put in from the very beginning of the project all the way through to the very end, and then you can actually see all the hard work that you and the rest of the team have put in.
I’d say when joining the training scheme, you just need to be yourself, and I’d also say you need to read a lot about the different aspects of the business, because there are so many different roles you can go into. You could go into design, or you could go into being an engineer. I think it’s really important to read around all of those to gain a better understanding of what you potentially might like to do.”
Chardae, Commercial Management Trainee for Construction London
My name is Chardae Opoko-Afranie, and I am a commercial management trainee.
So day to day, I’ll come into the office. We might have a team meeting just to find out what’s on track—like what payments have been put through, what payments need to go through, the subcontractors, finding out who’s on site, who’s not on site, what’s been done.
No one’s expecting you to come into the job and know everything off the bat. I came straight from school, so I didn’t know anything about construction, and everyone’s just really friendly. Everyone encourages you to learn.
I like being able to see the end product and being able to say that I was involved in something that could be there for potentially forever.”
Khushi, Design Management Trainee for Residential
My name is Khushi Varsani, and I’m a Design Management trainee. I participate in meetings with architects, engineers, the client, and other stakeholders. I review drawings to check for compliance with project specifications and standards. I’m training – really learning and developing – to understand design management, the construction industry, and doing placements and workshops through the scheme.
“My advice would be to come in with a positive mindset and have confidence in your abilities.”
Tanvir, previous Bid Management Trainee for Construction Northern Home Counties
My name is Tanvir Ahmed, I work for Wates Construction (Northern Counties), and I’m an Assistant Bid Manager.
“We’re the first step in construction. So, you have construction where you’re actually building, whereas [in] pre-construction, you’re actually winning the work. Sometimes you deliver schools, sometimes you deliver Life and Science buildings, sometimes it’s a research facility, so actually going and visiting the projects that you’ve tendered for, worked on, it gives you that little bit of boost and confidence to say that oh I worked on that project and now it actually exists.”
Kian, Production Management Trainee for Construction Northern Home Counties
My name’s Kian Ledger. I’m a production management trainee. A lot of my job involves checking health and safety on site. I typically get into the office about 7:30, be on site, office permits checks in the morning, stuff like that. And whatever issues arise during the day, I try and solve them – whether that be health and safety issues, buildability issues, money issues, commercial, whatever it may be.
“I do find it very rewarding, especially when you’re working on good projects as well – things that are going to help other people. Don’t be scared of asking. Ask questions and put yourself out there. The whole idea of being a trainee is that you learn.”
Lauren, Design Management Trainee for Residential
My name is Lauren McVeigh and I’m a trainee design manager. As a design manager, we’re responsible for being sort of a project manager, but specifically for design. So, we manage a team of consultants which includes architects, engineers, and mechanical and electrical. Everybody you speak to is an expert in what they’re doing, so you’re just constantly learning lots and lots of stuff.”
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