Simon Hunt, Winvic’s Managing Director, is extremely focussed on helping to educate the construction stars of tomorrow and, as with all aspects of the company, he is keen to make Winvic’s year in industry programme as successful as possible. He said: “I think these blogs are an excellent read and they all give me insight into areas where we can enhance their experiences. It’s great our current year in industry students have taken the time out to write about their experiences, they are all really positive reads, and I thank them for their passion. Each illustrates a different pathway to the industry and those who are considering a placement here can really understand what it’s like to be part of the team.”
Read Peter’s story
Read Matt’s story
Read George’s story
Today we meet Nirav, the fourth student who has chosen to share his story about what it’s like to undertake a year in industry placement at Winvic, as a year out of his degree. He is studying a BSc in Construction Management at Nottingham Trent University, and when he finishes at Winvic in July he will have one more year to complete in the classroom.
“I sound like such a cliché, but I was the kid who was obsessed with Lego, could spot a construction site from a mile away and I can still remember the feeling of being really intrigued about what happened behind a site’s hoardings; I guess I just really wanted to know the secrets of how buildings were put together and worked! I have a number of family members in construction working as a construction manager, a quantity surveyor, an estimator and a civil engineer, so as I headed to university I understood some of the roles available and knew I wanted to aim for a management role.
“I came across Winvic when I was looking at various placement opportunities, but they really stood out at the Nottingham Trent Construction Fair. I spoke to Rebecca in HR and Mark Jamieson, who was in the position I’m in now, and his enthusiasm for the company and the people brought it all to life for me. He wasn’t wrong either, because everything is fitting into place, Winvic’s wide range of projects is incredible, and I just love my team and coming to work.
“I think I’m pretty broad minded but my first week, and then first day on site, was a bit daunting, and I was worried about all the things I didn’t know. However, Darren Lomas, my managing mentor, guided me through my first week and we visited lots of live projects that were all at different stages, so I could get a flavour of how an end-to-end programme worked. Now, four months in, that week is everything to me, as I have been able to map my daily activities back to the different stages I witnessed. I love getting moments of clarity where my university studies, seeing those projects for the first time and what I’m doing on my current job all line up.
“Richard Grundy is a senior Engineer and my daily mentor but, to be honest, all of the team act like my mentors and we have great banter. Between them they have given me the opportunity and pushed me to be an engineer – I’m not just watching, I’m managing tasks, experiencing problems and coming up with solutions. I’m working on an industrial warehouse in Castleford and I’m currently managing the piling for ground stabilisation purposes, I’ve worked on the drainage packages, learned about cutting and filling, and have been involved in surveying, amongst other things. If Winvic offered me the opportunity to come back after I’ve finished my degree I would be so happy, as I can really see myself working my way up through the ranks here. Hopefully I would be able to work on more industrial projects and as I’m really interested in tall buildings and skyscrapers, I think I would really enjoy the experience of multi-room.”
Nirav Lad, Trainee Site Engineer
Please get in touch with Rebecca Schwarz on rebeccaschwarz@winvic.co.uk for more information on our year in industry placements.
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