We previously heard from Peter about his Quantity Surveyor placement, and today it’s the turn of Matt Tillen to speak about his year out of a BSc (Hons) in Construction Management at Nottingham Trent University. Many students who have spent 12 months working with us have really impressed, and we have offered them permanent positions after graduation. For example, Mark and Adam, who both joined us for a year from summer 2016, returned to Winvic as employees just a few months ago and they haven’t looked back – you can read what they have to say in Winvic’s 2018/19 recruitment brochure.
“Until a couple of years ago I was never sure what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I didn’t particularly enjoy office work and enjoyed being outdoors and active. When I applied for universities I mainly applied for Sports and Business courses, however I also applied for a Construction Management degree as it felt like a good fit to my skills, inclination towards working outside and thought it would be rewarding. After more research I chose construction as it offered a wide range of disciplines and areas within the course, and that would give me more options in the future – now I can’t believe I might have taken a completely different path!
“I first came across Winvic at my university careers fair. When I spoke to them I learned how the business was founded in 2001 and has already became a top 50 construction company in the UK, and the motto, The Winvic Way, resonated with me. I remember thinking that I shared their values and realised it was important for me to work for a supportive company with high expectations of its work. After four months, I’m glad to say I wasn’t wrong about our shared values and I have a good team to work with. Everyone is informative, and we all work well together to meet targets. I thought that the construction industry would be a more formal setting, but there is very much a happy family feel to Winvic and we really have fun. Even during the times when we need to get our heads down and be serious, everyone helps each other out, like family. We really are one team.
“My first day was a little daunting, however, the Winvic staff at head office made me feel very welcome. My first day on site was a completely new experience and a very quick steep learning curve – although I have to say the curve continues to be quite steep it’s so great I’m learning something new every day and everything that I have learnt at uni on paper is coming together in real life. I’ve found that working on industrial warehouses is a good way to learn, as there is lots of space and it makes it easier to see the key processes involved. The project’s Operations Manager, Naim Basha, is my managing mentor and he checks on my progress each month, and a lot of my learning comes from all the engineers on site who are all really helpful and great mentors.
“Already in the short time that I have been with Winvic, I have had the opportunity to get under the skin of a wide range of roles, any of which I could aim towards. I am currently enjoying my time as an engineer on an industrial warehouse project, Bell Farm, Bedford Link, but I am interested in sustainability and recyclable materials as well as all sectors. I also find mental health within construction an interesting and important topic, and one day I would like to run my own sites as a Project Manager. It would be incredible to achieve this with Winvic so I intend to work hard at each level and push myself to progress.”
Matt Tillen, Trainee Civil 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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