National Apprenticeship Week

9 febrero 2023

Liz joined Currie & Brown in September 2022 after organically growing through the built environment, her last role was supporting residential and commercial purchases. She was keen to develop her skills in the construction industry to add another layer to her knowledge bank.

We asked Liz what’s a typical day like as an Apprentice Quantity Surveyor?

Day in the life of an apprentice

Hi, I'm Liz, Apprentice Quantity Surveyor (QS) at Currie & Brown. 

Today's off to a great start.

I started my day at the Southampton office, where I joined everyone in the open plan kitchen to make a coffee and start the day with a chat and laugh about what we got up to the evening before. Back to my desk for 9am to dive into my emails and to-do list.

Making a difference to the wider team

One of the emails was from Dan, who works in an office on the South West of the country. Although I've only met him a couple of times, we're collaborating on the same project and always try to help each other out. We stay in touch regularly to ensure our client benefits from a consistent approach across the business. 

After answering Dan's queries, a calendar alert popped up to remind me to look at our office First Aid Kit. I'm one of the Southampton Office's first aiders – this includes various tasks, such as checking expiry dates on first aid kits or making sure emergency equipment is in working order.

Lending my expertise to get the job done

We have so many exciting projects on the go here with multiple clients ranging across different sectors, such as education and hospitality. We work closely as a team, attend briefing sessions and understand our weekly objectives. One of my key tasks is to ensure documents are checked and issued. There's a real sense of enjoyment from knowing that everyone is pulling together to make every project a success. 

Support whenever I need it

I'm always able to reach out to someone more experienced for support. We hot desk, and today I happened to be sitting next to my line manager, Charlotte. She always offers me a perspective I hadn't considered or points me in the right direction. She also gives me the freedom to carry out the work myself and use my initiative.

Lunch with a serving of giggles

I always try to go for a walk on my lunch break. But today was cold and drizzly, so I ate lunch with Donne in the 'Wellbeing Zone.' It's a lovely space where we are encouraged to take a break and relax. We chatted and laughed a lot which left me feeling happy and recharged before my site visit.

A tricky valuation assessment

A site in Poole is a Hospital, where we're building a new three-storey extension which involves a clever fusion of the integration of old and new. The building will include a Laminar air flow system encasing three open operating theatres on the same floor. I did a walk around with the Contractor quantity surveyor to assess works, which is a great part of my role.

So at the end of my day I can say…

I love my job because no two days are ever the same. I may be on site for the morning, afternoon, a whole day, or not at all. My office is in Southampton, but sometimes I can work from home if I need to. I have so many opportunities on a range of projects, working with so many different teams. I don't think it's possible to get bored with this much momentum and variety!