Advanced Apprenticeship for Civil Engineers and Quantity Surveyors

BAM Nuttall is a dynamic company offering a full range of civil engineering services. The key to our success is the ability to take on technically challenging, complex projects and deliver them with ease to our customers total satisfaction.

BAM Nuttall is a subsidiary company of Royal BAM Group one of the largest construction enterprises in Europe and as such benefits from the combined skills and resources of the group to meet our customers needs.

Are you looking for an exciting career….
A career with BAM Nuttall is not like any other career! We give our people as much freedom and involvement in all aspects of a project at the earliest stage. From day one you will be working with our experienced team and will be able to make an instant contribution to the running of our £multi-million projects.

Advanced Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering
Our Apprenticeship will give you the opportunity to train as either a Civil Engineer or a Quantity Surveyor. We will tailor the qualification and site placement to your option. Join us as an apprentice and after 2 - 3 years you'll gain a nationally recognised qualification ready to begin your career in one of the most exciting industries around!

How do I know if it’s right for me?

• Are you aged between 16 -23?
• Do you have a minimum of 4 GCSE's (Grade A* - C) including Maths, English and Science?

What is Civil Engineering?
Civil Engineering is part of the construction industry, it is the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure. Infrastructure is works like roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, runways and coastal walls.

Civil Engineering is not the construction of houses or commercial buildings such as schools, hospitals, or shopping centres.

What does a Civil Engineer do?
Civil Engineers are construction professionals who make up our site supervisory and management team with most Civil Engineers working predominantly outdoors.

Civil Engineers turn plans into reality and are responsible for ensuring that projects are completed to a high quality and within the given timeframe. Civil Engineers play an important role in managing health and safety on sites, as well looking after the environment.

As a Civil Engineering Technician what can I expect to be doing?
You will be based on a technically challenging project within the UK where you will have hands on experience from day one. You will receive ongoing training and support to enable you to play an important role in one of our site teams.

On a daily basis our Civil Engineering Technicians instruct our skilled workforce, maintain diaries of site activities and ensure works are carried safely to the company’s Health and Safety procedures.

One of the primary roles of a Civil Engineering Technician is setting out on site and communicating this information to our skilled employees. Setting out is carried out using specialist equipment and can be described as the reverse of surveying. While surveying is the process of creating maps and plans of a site or area, setting out starts with plans and ends with them being turned into reality on site. Our Civil Engineering Technicians will develop the fundamental skill in taking the information from the plans and turning it into useable information for setting out.  

Once the project has been completed, a Civil Engineer is sometimes required to survey the site in order to create a plan of the project as it has been built. This new survey is then compared to the original survey and any variations are recorded. This is known as the ‘as built’ survey.

What does a Quantity Surveyor do?
Quantity Surveyors in Civil Engineering (Civil Engineering Surveyors) are part of the Commercial Management team. Commercial Management is the process that deals with contractual and financial aspects of civil engineering projects. Quantity Surveyors are a crucial part of our site teams; they are construction professionals with a working knowledge of contracts, law, finance, economics, tendering and procurement.

A Quantity Surveyor works to reduce the financial risks of a construction project. Not only do they make an important contribution to the profitability of the companies and customers they represent, but they also help to underpin the sustainability of the industry by minimising and even eradicating the unnecessary wastes of time, resources and money. The ultimate goal is to maximise profit and minimise loss.

As a Quantity Surveying Technician what can I expect to be doing?
As a Quantity Surveying Technician you will work out of one of our site offices but you will regularly go out on site to monitor the progress of works.

You will be involved in a range of activities including: carrying out assessments of our subcontractors’ completed work and preparing payment in line with these assessments, monitoring site costs and assisting in the procurement of subcontract packages and material orders.

Some of the activities you may be involved in include ‘taking off’ and preparing Bills of Quantities to recognised standard. Taking off is the technical term used for measuring quantities from drawings, sketches and specifications. The quantities from the ‘take off’ are then used to prepare a Bill of Quantities. Put simply, a Bill of Quantities is a detailed breakdown of the quantities, resources and the cost required to complete a project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I be required to live away from home?
Yes, one of the exciting parts of our industry is the chance to move around the country! We have a team of Apprentice Advisors dedicated to looking after the welfare of Apprentices who will help you settle in and find suitable accommodation.

Where will I live whilst at College?
During the college blocks you will be staying with a local family / landlady. Your accommodation costs will be covered by us and your meals will be provided to you free of cost. We tend to place at least two Apprentices at the same property, so you will stay with someone else from the course. We make the safety and welfare of our Apprentices a priority and the accommodation is carefully vetted before the properties are selected.  We will also cover the costs of your travel to go home each weekend.

What about when I am working on a site placement?
We try to place our Apprentices close to home when possible. However, if you are required to live away from home during your site placements, you will receive a living away allowance as a contribution towards your living costs.  We will cover the cost of your travel home for the weekends.  If you live at home during your site placements, your travel costs to the site will be covered by the Company.

What sort of support can I expect during the Apprenticeship?
You will have a dedicated Apprentice Advisor who will be your key contact during the programme and will visit you at college and on site. You’ll have regular reviews and contact with your Apprentice Advisor to ensure that you are progressing well through the programme. When on site, you will be assigned a line manager as well as a mentor to guide and advise you during your placement. Also, with an intake of 32 new Apprentices in 2013, you will have plenty of new friends to socialise with.

What qualifications will I study for?

• BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment
• NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Construction Contracting Operations
• Additional practical and technical training, designed to give you a more detailed understanding of civil engineering or quantity surveying.

How long will I be at college for?

• The Apprenticeship starts in October. You will attend Stephenson College (www.stephensoncoll.ac.uk) in Leicestershire for your first college block.
  After four months at college you will be ready to start your first site placement.
• In your second year on the Apprenticeship Programme you will attend college in two shorter blocks.

Is there anything else that I need to know?

• We have received many awards for the Apprenticeship Programme including Silver in the 2012 Training Journal Awards, Highly Commended in the 2012 Apprenticeship Awards and we have been listed as one of the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for the last 2 years.
• We have a dedicated Apprenticeship Team who support apprentices and manage welfare arrangements throughout the training programme.
• The Apprenticeship Programme has a strong culture within the company and we hold regular apprentice forums and social events.

“The Apprenticeship Programme has a ‘hands on’ style of learning. There is a good mix of practical training and theory as well as block placements out on site. Every day you learn something new - which is what makes the Apprenticeship such a great opportunity. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a career in Civil Engineering.” Kirsty Horsman - Apprentice

The Next Step…
Following successful completion of the Advanced Apprenticeship, most of our apprentices will continue on to the Higher National Diploma (HND) and become either Trainee Engineers or Trainee Quantity Surveyors. This again is a block release programme over two years spending time both on site and at college.

Applications for the 2013 intake open in May
Please call Marika Alakare on 01276 63484 or alternatively email Marika.Alakare@bamnuttall.co.uk for more details.

“BAM Nuttall has shown a real interest in what I have been doing and in my future career. I would highly recommend this programme to anyone who is considering Civil Engineering as a career choice. Civil Engineering is one of the most varied jobs with so many areas that can be specialised in, and it can take you all over the world!” Matthew Smith -Trainee Engineer