Training the managers of tomorrow
As a trainee site manager, Alex knows all about being asked to help out at the sharp end of operations. The 20 year old, from Kinver in Staffordshire, has been shadowing senior site managers from BAM Construction for the past three months on Two Chamberlain Square at Paradise Birmingham.
It’s been a steep learning curve, Alex admits. She says:
Working with different people every day is the most enjoyable part of the job.
From first thing in the morning until I leave in the evening I am around people who really know their stuff, so I am – literally – learning something new every day. Some of the guys here have forty years’ experience in the industry so I am very lucky to be able to tap into that and apply it in the way I conduct myself.’
Alex is just one of 20 trainees and apprentices on the Paradise site alongside more than 200 other construction personnel building One and Two Chamberlain Square, the first buildings in the £700 million development.
While studying for her degree in Construction Management at Birmingham City University (BCU) Alex also enjoys yoga and swimming in her spare time.
Alex adds:
“This really is an amazing project and one I will never forget. I know there has been a lot of planning and preparation to get to this point, but now people can really see and appreciate the buildings coming out of the ground and having an impact on the city’s skyline. When people look at the bigger picture I think they recognise this is a project that is going to make a real difference to the city by creating new jobs as well as new buildings.”
Lifelong learning is important for everyone, and Paradise is facilitating learning and development opportunities for every single person working on the site, from the cleaners and security staff through to the managers and directors.
Argent Regional Director Rob Groves says:
“For many of us, Paradise will be the biggest project we ever work on. It’s an amazing opportunity for younger workers to see how a large, complex project works and engage with the problem-solving that is required to overcome the kind of issues we face each working day. With thirty thousand people walking through the middle of the site every day, for example, that creates a wide range of unique challenges that you simply wouldn’t have on the vast majority of development sites.
The fact we have a four lane expressway running directly under the site and a Metro line being built alongside us means we have to engage with all of our stakeholders every step of the way. Having trainees like Alex on board means they will be able to take that experience away and apply it to the future projects they work upon. It’s a wonderful way for young people to start a career in construction and development and I am sure it will hold them in good stead.”