Assistant Design Manager Review

Assisting senior design managers and TW coordinators. Managing CDP's, reviewing drawings, attending meetings, completing inspections, managing various design trackers to monitor progress and keep to programme.

From Kier's side it was very good, lots of support and you always knew where you stood with things and were offered plenty of opportunities to support us with our course. However with Hallam there was often poor communication, unable to get hold of lecturers or our course leader for support, we even had lecturers not turn up to classes and with no notice, on one occasion where this happened we only received and email from the lecturer to say they weren't coming over an hour after the scheduled end of the lecture. We just didn't feel like a priority to Hallam. Our Work Based Learning Coach was very helpful though, when we couldn't get hold of Hallam he was often our only point of contact for support at the university and he would always do his best to help.

My mentor at Kier has always been fantastic and was always a great support whenever needed. We also had the support of the Emerging Talent team at Kier who have also been very helpful at helping us get answers where required and ensuring that we were given the resources needed for our studies. The only minor thing i can say is that sometimes some colleagues who are not as aware of what our course entails can be less mindful of deadlines and workloads, however on the whole the support i recieved from Kier has been fantastic.

Communication with Hallam was minimal throughout the whole 5 year duration of the course, there were many occasions on which i reached out to lecturers for support or guidance and received no response, or a response when it was almost too late to be of any help. Our course leader (who was often made the default contact by other lecturers) was near impossible to contact and even regularly missed student rep meetings with no notice so the cohort struggled to voice concerns and get support, both individually and as a group. Overall it felt like Hallam considered the degree apprentice students to be an afterthought.

I feel that by completing the course i have a deeper understanding of technical details, certain processes within the construction industry and the course has allowed me to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours required to complete my role ore confidently and independently, which helps to prepare me for progression in the company. I feel like the opportunity to work in the role whilst studying has been invaluable as i have gained on site experience that cant be taught in a classroom.

Yes

I would and have recommended Kier to others because they have always been a supportive company to work for who i feel look after their staff well. There are excellent progression opportunities and support with learning/progression and offer an excellent opportunity for a long term career with the company. They also have very good company benefits.