Assistant Commercial Manager Review

Item: Assistant Commercial Manager at Mace
Rating: 4.8
Author: Anonymous

at Mace

Degree Apprenticeship

Construction

London

Review Submitted: May 2021

Overall Rating

4.8 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

5/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

4.6/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

5/5

I manage the commercial side of various packages such as Soft Landscaping, External Works, Temporary Services, Firestopping, Signage and more. This involves sending instructions, completing valuations, assessing variations and updating commercial documents such as Interim final accounts. I am site based so walk site everyday too to assist my learning.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

5/5

I thoroughly enjoy being on the apprenticeship programme and would recommend it to anybody. Not only do I have the advantage of learning onsite alongside my degree, but we also have internal training sessions from industry professionals on a variety of topics from presentation skills to technical construction training. There is a
lot of support too if ever needed.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

I have learnt/developed so many skills since starting my role, mainly my communication and analytical skills. I have learnt how to use many different communication forms and how to commute with different colleagues etc. clients and subcontractors. My analytical skills have also increased a lot commercially to ensure I complete my role to the best of my ability to achieve value for money.

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

5/5

Each 'year' of the programme is from September to Septemeber, with my university starting in October for one day a week. The course is very well structured in that we are made aware of our university day at the start of the year, and provided with our internal training programme from HR so we can see in our diaries when our training is for the upcoming year.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

There is a lot of support provided and always someone to ask if I ever need help. We have line managers, apprentice 'buddy's', HR apprenticeship team, and multiple internal documents that will provide any information required. Any issues I've had have always been resolved straight away and the general attitude to helping apprentices is very positive.

How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

3/5

HR within Mace are very helpful in ensuring our external qualifications are meeting expectations and host many reviews for us apprentices to raise any concerns we may have. The university lecturers are easily accessible via email and can set up meetings on request if we need help on something.

How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

5/5

I find my qualification very useful in that we learn a lot of base construction knowledge that we may miss/not see through working in the industry, perhaps because of the type of project we are on e.g. my project is a steel frame but university also teaches about concrete frames. We also learn about Law and Economics which is very helpful in day to day working.

Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

5/5

There are lots of networking events available and volunteering opportunities to take part in. We are all given one day a year to partake in volunteering activities. My sector also hosts sporting events days where we raise money for charity.

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend Mace to a friend?

Yes

Why?

I have never had any issues working at Mace and there are lots of processes in place such as reviews with HR/line managers that ensure we are happy in our roles and if we require anything. There are many perks of working here and I have been able to work on some very exciting projects that I am hopeful will continue in my time here.