02 November 2015

I left the Royal Navy on 12 July 2014 after five years’ service.

I decided I wanted to change career while I was still relatively young at 24 years old.

While serving my year notice period I completed a Prince2 course and a management and leadership course to broaden my CV. I was looking to enter “civvy street” in a junior management position, I was due promotion in the Navy and wanted to try and maintain my level of earnings and responsibility. My main concern was that a lot of my training and qualifications were not valid as a civilian.

I enjoyed the Prince2 course and began to research my options in the construction industry. During my research I found an article on construction management which looked like something I would enjoy.

I also felt that I had transferrable skills which would suit the role. It was obvious that the industry was picking up as there were a number of advertisements for various roles within the construction industry.

Curious about construction

A Taylor Wimpey advert for an apprentice site manager caught my eye on a job site; it looked a great opportunity and would allow me to start a fresh with no previous experience necessary.

I sent my CV and managed to get an interview, which went well and felt much more relaxed than previous interviews.

I began my training at Manor Rise in Tidworth. Taylor Wimpey took over as Principal Contractor on the day I started which was great as I could learn from the beginning instead of starting on a site that was partially complete.

I learned about Health and Safety on site and policed Taylor Wimpey’s policies, I also spent a large amount of time inducting and directing trades on site and learning to “snag” homes.

After approximately seven months I was moved to a larger site in Andover to allow me to experience different approaches to site management.

Taking responsibility

The site in Andover was five years into a 10 year project. I was given more responsibility and taught how to call of materials and how to write a programme.

Eventually I was given a number of homes to manage from first fix through to customer handover and conduct seven day and 28 day visits. I also dealt with customer care on site.

Eventually I was involved in the whole customer journey from “Meet the Builder” through to handover and aftercare, this was extremely rewarding as it allowed me to build a relationship with the customer and help them achieve their dream of living in a Taylor Wimpey home.

Taylor Wimpey have allowed me to have an input into my training and are always flexible if I want to alter the training programme to aid my development.

I am currently based at Head Office to increase my knowledge of all departments involved in building Taylor Wimpey homes before going back to site as an Assistant Site Manager.

 

This article was originally published on the HBF's House Building Careers website

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