Jake Bishop, 26, joined Deeley Construction as a trainee site manager in 2019 and is the latest in a long line of trainees making their mark at the firm.
In our latest blog he discusses his development as a site manager and how he has benefitted from the guidance of a strong mentor.
It’s been a whirlwind since joining Deeley Construction under two years ago and it’s safe to say I have learnt a lot in a short space of time.
Prior to setting out on a career in construction I worked in video production, but moving industries is one of the best decisions I have made – and there are two people I can thank for that decision, my sister and Chris Newman, a contracts manager here at the firm.
It was my sister who first encouraged me to look at construction and then Chris who pushed for me to join up with Deeley Construction and undertake further training and qualifications.
After a month working as an assistant on a housing development, I moved onto managing a refurbishment project at University of Warwick. I was the only site manager on that project and again I can thank Chris for speaking to the directors and stating that he thought I already had the ability to manage the job.
Since then, I have worked on multiple other projects, most notably the Aviator House mixed-use development at Haddenham and now, alongside the same team, we are starting work on an Extra Care development at Didcot.
At Didcot I have more formal responsibilities again and it will be another important step in my development.
When I was at school, and I think to some extent this is still true today, there wasn’t much information shared about construction and the vast range of opportunities available within the industry.
There are so many branches on the construction tree, that simply aren’t known to young people.
I’ve had the experience of working in another industry and it feels a lot more secure and stable with construction. Over the last 12 months the industry has continued to work through the pandemic and has proved crucial to the economy.
I like the comradery of working in the industry – you’re regularly working with people from different walks of life and it has great social benefits.
There is a great sense of pride when you see a project come through after a long build process.
My digital background and keen attention to detail have been valuable transferrable skills from my previous career. It’s important to me that a job is completed to the highest possible standard, whilst understanding the benefit of implementing technology into my day-to-day role to increase efficiency.
Deeley Construction has been a great support and invested a lot of time and resource into my development. They know better than most the benefits of investing in trainees, with managing director Martin Gallagher and construction director Steve Turner both coming through the trainee pathway.
I’m on the verge of completing my two-year HSC qualification and then from October will be studying BSc Construction Management at Birmingham City University – all of this has been funded by the company.
My focus is the continued development of my skills and knowledge, whilst taking on new challenges and guidance from people like Chris Newman to become a well-rounded and experienced site manager for the firm.
