We sat down with SMB College Group Alumnus and Site Manager at Galliford Try, Harvey Fisk, to talk about his time at the college, his successful career and his exciting plans for the future.
What did you study at SMB College Group?
Level 2 Trades Course in Construction.
What was your favourite thing about studying at the college?
The course itself was well worth doing as it gives you a good insight into the various trades and gives you an appreciation and understanding for the skill involved in executing it to a good standard. This has benefited me in my later career especially when it comes to managing these trades. My personal favourite was between plastering and bricklaying, I equally enjoyed both. The college has nice grounds which provided a nice environment to enjoy on your breaks.
What have you done since leaving college?
Since leaving the college I went on to pursue a career in construction management. I joined a Level 3 in Construction & the Built Environment course at Derby college which is a 2-year course. I did this full time for the first year alongside re-sitting GCSE English before being taken on by G F Tomlinson Building Ltd which is a Derby base contractor to complete the remaining year as an apprentice.
Following this as part of my apprenticeship I went on to complete a level 4 foundation degree part time for 3 years and then finally completed a level 5 & 6 BSc Hons Degree in construction management for a further 2 years part time at Nottingham Trent University. In total my apprenticeship was 6 years and took me a total of 7 years to obtain all my qualifications.
Whilst studying I was working within the organisation spending a short period of time (4-6weeks) in each department to understand how the how organisation works together to make a successful business. Following this you select your preferred career path and progress into it. I chose Site Management and spent my time at the company successfully completing projects alongside a team, working my way up within the business. I was the youngest/fastest in the company to be promoted to Assistant Site Manager and wasn’t long before I was trusted to run my own smaller projects as and when the company needed. On completion of my apprenticeship, I was promoted to Site Manager. Shortly after I left G F Tomlinson to pursue my career and further challenge myself within the industry.
Some of the projects I completed while at G F Tomlinson include; Nottingham Free School £6m, Dorothy Goodman School £7.5m (won 2 awards), Lincoln University £1.5m and MTIF £5.8m (won 2 awards).
What is your current job role & employer?
I now work as a Site Manager for Galliford Try who are one of the largest construction contractors in the UK. As a group they turnover in the region of £4b per year. Since joining the company, I have successfully completed a brand-new state of the art medical facility for Glenfield Hospital in Leicester and will hopefully be promoted to a Senior Site Manager in time for the next project.
What are your future career aspirations?
My future aspirations are to continue to grow and progress within the industry. I want to continue up to project manager and then eventually get into an operation director or managing director role.
Outside of my day job, I am looking to start my own property renovating/development company.
As well as this I am passionate about STEM and encouraging the next generation into the industry. I feel there is a shortage of information surrounding the construction industry and the careers it has to offer and therefore feel there is more that can be done. I am also looking into setting up an organisation to help bridge this gap.
How have the skills that you learned at college helped you with your next steps/current career?
The course I did at SMB gave me the initial insight into the industry, the trades and the skills required to do so. Fortunately, at the time the college was having some projects carried out by various contractors and as such I managed to gain an introduction to the site management side of the industry. This for me is where it all began.
Would you recommend the college to future students?
I would recommend the college and the course to future students. The staff certainly in the construction side as this is what I know are very knowledgeable on the various trades and will definitely turn you into skilled trades people should this be where you wish to take your career.
Any words of advice for current students who are worried about their futures?
The future can be changed and you can do/achieve anything you wish to. Don’t be too harsh on yourself about where you need to be or where you think you should be. Things take time and in a lot of cases hard graft. It took me 7 years just to become qualified and I still feel like I have so far to go. Yet sometimes it’s good to take a step back and reflect on how far you’ve come as opposed to focusing solely on how far you have to go. So long as you put the work in to achieve what you want to, in time you will achieve it. When it comes to your careers, pursue something which you are passionate about and it will all make sense and it won’t feel like hard work or make you feel like you don’t want to go to education or work as it will be an enjoyable experience.
Find out more about studying a Construction course with SMB College Group at https://www.smbcollegegroup.ac.uk/courses/construction#