Quality and quantity

What would you do if you were having difficulty recruiting a quantity surveyor? Building services contractor NG Bailey decided to produce its own.

The QS apprenticeship, set up in October 2005 in conjunction with Leeds College of Building and Leeds Metropolitan University, was developed in response to an industry-wide shortage of qualified surveyors.

Alison Ashworth-Brown, head of the Bailey Engineering Academy, explains: “Normally, we would recruit qualified QSs who have undertaken a degree, or develop employees from other areas of the business. However, the shortage means new graduates are snapped up quickly.” She adds: “The QS apprenticeship has been designed specifically to appeal to both A-level students and existing employees within other areas of the business who want to move into quantity surveying without having to go back to full time education.”

Arranged by block release, the course enables students to gain a mixture of hands-on work experience alongside their qualification – a foundation degree in quantity surveying. On-the-job training also gives apprentices the opportunity to work side-by-side with qualified QSs and commercial departments, providing them with an in-depth insight into their chosen career route.

With all apprentices earning a salary throughout the scheme and NG Bailey paying for the academic element of the course, the apprenticeship is also a great option for people who want to gain a qualification in quantity surveying without the associated student debts.

“You earn a salary whilst gaining a qualification and get the benefits of working for a large national company,” says Ashworth-Brown.

Benefits aside, however, quantity surveying isn't always the first career choice for many. NG Bailey has had to work hard to attract people. “When we set up the course, we used a combination of recruitment techniques to attract both A-level aged students and employees already working within the business,” says Ashworth-Brown. “We contacted Connexions, a careers advice service, as well as careers advisors at colleges and schools to make them aware of the course and employment route.” The course was also advertised in the local press, specialist student careers magazines and internally, to ensure a broad awareness. “Details of the course were placed on the careers section of the NG Bailey website, which many potential employees and apprentices visit,” she adds.

Since the programme’s inception in 2005, subscription has been strong. In the first year, nine male students joined, five of whom already worked within the business. In 2006, however, 16 students joined the course, seven of which came externally from the business and six of whom were female.

You earn a salary whilst gaining a qualification and get the benefits of working for a large national company

“The quantity surveying student apprenticeship is gaining popularity amongst females. In fact, it currently has the largest number of women on it out of all our apprenticeships,” she enthuses.

The course was initially intended to span four years, but early indications are that the first group should complete it within three, meaning they’ll graduate from the apprenticeship in September 2008. “Our first intake of students are doing really well and we expect them to complete the course a year sooner than anticipated. This may also be the case for subsequent years, although it’s too early to say for definite,” says Ashworth-Brown.

Throughout the course, apprentices follow an on-the-job training programme, devised by a commercial specialist within the business. They are also closely monitored by a designated line manager to ensure they learn the necessary skills. A technical apprenticeship manager oversees the programme, visiting students on the job and at college to check on progress.

After completing the course, apprentices can pursue a career at NG Bailey or go on to become fully chartered, which involves taking a top-up foundation degree and the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) course.

However, NG Bailey is currently looking at integrating the NVQ Level Four in quantity surveying into the programme, alongside the foundation degree, which would mean students taking the course in future would be Tec RICS qualified.

So far, the programme has proved a great success and NG Bailey is developing a similar course for young designers, due to start in October this year.

Mark Andrews, NG Bailey’s chief executive and member of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network says: “This programme is an extremely innovative extension to the apprenticeship model, offering practical progression options within quantity surveying, firmly based on business needs.”