Women in construction: Grace is promoted to Assistant QS

Congratulations to Grace, recently promoted to Assistant QS! 🎉 Grace joined us straight from university as a trainee QS and has made excellent progress so far. As a woman in construction, we wanted to ask her a couple of questions including what inspired her to pursue a career in construction, what her day-to-day looks like and what her aspirations are for the future.

1. What attracted you to working in construction?

From a young age the construction industry has always interested me; growing up I wanted to develop an understanding of the technical aspects of how buildings were constructed and the processes that occurred to achieve the finished product. I believe that the industry offers a lot of job satisfaction; I find it rewarding to participate in a development as it evolves from the planning and viability phases through to construction and eventual handover to the customer. Furthermore, being part of a team that makes influential decisions that impact and contribute to our society is what attracted me to working in the construction industry.

2. What does your day-to-day involve and what parts of your role do you enjoy the most?

My day-to-day role varies widely. Contracts and procurement are one part of my role; this involves liaising with internal departments including Planning, Technical, Construction and Sales plus external subcontractors and suppliers to ensure cost-efficiency and the smooth running of our live projects and overcoming any variations that may arise. I really enjoy developing and maintaining connections with our subcontractors to ensure we are all working towards the mutual goal of producing developments to the highest standard whilst maintaining cost control.

I’m also involved in pre-development work; land appraisals involve working alongside our Land and Technical team to determine whether upcoming development opportunities are viable. I enjoy this aspect of the job role because it aids to my development and understanding, and gives me the opportunity to see a development from the initial stages right through to the finished product.

3. What do you like most about working at Newett Homes?

Newett Homes is a young company that is constantly growing, with a great team that generates an all-inclusive work environment. I’m excited to be given the opportunity to be a part of its growth, and keen to be part of shaping and implementing new systems and processes as the company expands. Also, forging new relationships with subcontractors and suppliers to achieve cost-optimisation throughout our developments, whilst delivering a product that I am proud to be part of the process of!

4. What are your aspirations for the future?

My aspirations for the future are to continually develop my knowledge of all aspects of the house-building industry. After graduating from my Master’s in Quantity Surveying next year, I also hope to study for my RICS accreditation to continue my professional development within Newett Homes, to aid my ambition to become a Chartered Quantity Surveyor.