Leading developer Lovell is working with Network75 to provide university students with practical experience alongside a funded degree course.
Lovell has welcomed two trainee quantity surveyors on the Network 75 scheme; 21-year-old Joseph Williams from Pontprennau and 26-year-old Nathan Corlett from Abertillery.
Network75 is a combined work and study route to a degree, offered by the University of South Wales on certain undergraduate courses. Students have the opportunity to gain both academic knowledge and practical experience, making them industry-ready graduates.
The scheme has been running since September 2000 and has since resulted in 100% employability for graduates.
Joe and Nathan are both currently enrolled on a degree in quantity surveying and commercial management from the University of South Wales. Their role with Lovell is site based and involves assisting the estimating team with the costing of new sites.
At the start of their employment with Lovell, both Nathan and Joe had to complete rotations throughout all of the different departments in the business to grow their understanding of how they all work together.
Joe had already begun his degree when he discovered the scheme. He said: “The benefits of learning on the job as well as in the classroom really appealed to me. I can easily apply everything I learn with Lovell to my studies and vice versa. I think that when I graduate, I’ll have a great base of knowledge to apply to my career.
“Lovell have a brilliant progression scheme in place too which will enable me to get as much as I can out of my placement.”
Joe is aiming to graduate university with a First Class Honours and continue to work for Lovell full time following the completion of the scheme.
Jimmy Knowles, senior quantity surveyor at Lovell, is Joe’s assessor. He said: “The Network 75 scheme really is a brilliant way to gain a higher education and industry experience simultaneously. We’ve started on two new sites since Joe joined the team so his negotiation and communication skills have improved enormously. The team are really excited to see how he will progress throughout the scheme.”
Nathan entered the scheme in the third year out of five, proving that it can be tailored to each individual. He said: “The biggest appeal of the scheme was to be able to earn a living and gain a university degree simultaneously. I was previously concerned about the financial burden of student loans but now it is not something I need to worry about.
“It can be challenging working on multiple sites at different stages but I have learnt so much already during my time at Lovell and I can only hope to continue to progress even further towards a successful career.
Catherine Evans, managing estimator at Lovell is Nathan’s assessor. She said: “It’s lovely to see how Nathan has settled in and I’m really impressed with his output so far. I look forward to seeing Nathan’s career progression here at Lovell and I think he’ll go on to become a valuable member of the team.”
James Duffett, regional managing director for Lovell, said: “Network 75 is a brilliant training scheme and we’re really excited to be able to offer young people the opportunity to flourish in their trade as well as a formal qualification.
“It is incredibly important to Lovell to invest in developing raw talent and we understand the value having a team of diverse, talented people.”