On Wednesday 12th March, participants in the PLACED Academy were introduced to Project Management and Quantity Surveying in the construction industry, thanks to our sponsors, Walker Sime. We held two sessions in both Liverpool and Manchester, which saw the young people learn first-hand that Project Managers oversee all aspects of a project to ensure smooth operations, while Quantity Surveyors are responsible for managing finances, including costs, budgets, and contracts.
The heart of the skills session was a hands-on team challenge, ‘The Build’. Participants were divided into contractor teams and tasked with building a scale model of a house using card templates. The exercise mirrored real-world challenges of a real construction project, emphasising the importance of teamwork, resource planning, and task allocation.
Teams operated under a budget, facing costs for resource usage and penalties for errors or delays, with successful teams earning bonuses. The session highlighted the importance of problem solving and the critical nature of efficient resource management, schedule adherence, and quality control in project management and quantity surveying. The workshop provided valuable, practical insights into these key construction roles.
Huge thanks to Charlie Chu, Aaron Fitton, Chris Tildsley & Anthony Watson from the Walker Sime team in Liverpool and Mach Campbell, Leighton Le Carpenteir, Matt Edwards & Gareth Robertson from the Walker Sime team in Manchester for all the insights and support throughout the session.
Big thank you to Rider Levett Bucknall for generously hosting and providing snacks for the Manchester workshop and University of Liverpool for hosting the Liverpool workshop.