Our Sean Robinson has recently gained his RICS Chartership and has also become a Senior Project Surveyor. To celebrate this, we asked him to reflect on his Quantity Surveying journey so far.
“I have always been fascinated by the built environment, particularly since undertaking a BSc in Geography. Through this educational background, I knew I wanted to play a role in shaping the environments we live in by helping to deliver construction projects, and the role of a Quantity Surveyor seemed to align perfectly with my interests and skills.
To achieve my goal of becoming a chartered surveyor, I began my professional journey at b&m in 2019 and with their support undertook an MSc in Quantity Surveying & Commercial Management. Since then I have worked on a diverse variety of projects, ranging from school developments and residential schemes (both new build and retrofit), to specialist care home refurbishments and heritage projects. This wide exposure allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding and well-rounded skill set as a QS.
Throughout this journey, I’ve continuously developed professionally. Each project and each client interaction has honed my abilities, providing me with invaluable experience and knowledge. Working at b&m offered me the opportunity to work with varied project teams and clients, further broadening my perspective and understanding within the field.
One particularly memorable challenge was completing a care home refurbishment project with the Royal British Legion Industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hurdles we faced and overcame during this time were immense. More recently, I successfully completed two projects with Valley Invicta Academies Trust: a new classroom block and a new sports hall. These were my fifth and sixth projects with the same client over the past three years and seeing them through to completion was incredibly satisfying.
Support from my colleagues at b&m has been crucial throughout this journey. I received mentorship and guidance from other surveyors who had gone through the same chartership process, which was especially helpful.
The final assessment to achieve chartership was, without a doubt, the most challenging evaluation I have ever faced. It was an intense hour where I was thoroughly questioned by the assessors to demonstrate my competence as a surveyor. However, I feel that the rigorous preparation and the extensive experience I had gained at b&m were instrumental in a successful outcome. Achieving chartership almost five years to the day since starting my career as a QS was a significant milestone for me.
Looking ahead, the next challenge at b&m is still taking shape. I am keen to take on more responsibility and play a key part as the company grows.”
We are proud of our continued support to the Next Generation, and want to encourage all our staff to be the best they can be. This is part of our People First business value, and underpins our B Corp commitment to our Workers.
