I have hundreds of stories to tell from my year at John Rowan and Partners, highlighting the amazing experiences I have been part of and the knowledge I’ve gained. I’ve participated in several charity and networking events such as our Macmillan coffee morning, a ‘pizza and beer’ event, a ping-pong championship and cricket games. I represented the company at a University of Reading construction careers fair and will soon attend Loughborough’s fair too.

As well as enjoying social events with my John Rowan and Partners family, I’ve managed to find time to deliver projects, increasing my knowledge and technical skills. I worked with a senior quantity surveyor on a high-rise residential development in Canada Water, negotiating with the contractors and sub-contractors on variations, analysing works and estimating costs. With the support of my colleagues, I was fully responsible for the reinstatement valuations of Stonegate, a pub management company which owns brands as Yates, Flares, Slug and Lettuce, and The Living Room, as well as being heavily involved in the extremely challenging and demanding projects with Sainsbury’s, one of our main clients. This work has helped me understand tender procedure,s including the responsibilities of the quantity surveyor and the risk of inaccurate results.

My greatest achievement with the company – and one of the most interesting projects – was being selected to work for three weeks in our Abu Dhabi offices for the construction of a military airbase located in the Middle East. I became familiar with Principles of Measurement International (POMI), which was required for the take-off procedures. As well as learning new technical skills had the opportunity to experience a different culture.

Working here has been a pleasure for me because of the culture at John Rowan and Partners and the positive environment we have. As an employee I enjoy benefits such as flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, free gym passes and casual dress Fridays for charity. I’m glad to be part of such a great team.