I graduated in Construction Management thanks to LCB
Construction & the Built Environment
Hi, my name is Tafadzwa, I'm currently working as an Assistant Planner at Laing O'Rourke, an international engineering enterprise.
I studied Level 3 in Construction & the Built Environment, completing with distinctions. On 17 July 2019 I graduated from Leeds Beckett University with an upper second (2:1) BSc in Construction Management.
I cannot thank the College enough for helping me on my journey!
My time at college
I started in Year 10 I was 14 years old (an eternity ago) and left when I was 20. During that time you made it a safe environment for me to learn and explore, because of that I managed to flourish as a person and as a construction professional - I can’t thank you enough!
I did Plumbing Level 1, Construction Management and Built Environment Level 2 & 3. I also learnt to take chances and to push myself because when I wanted to leave plumbing and get into management I had a lot of barriers such as lack of GCSEs in Maths and English.
I told my tutor and personal advisor I will have these qualifications before I finish my Level 3, which I did by attending night school. This made me not afraid to ask for chances and know that obstacles can be moved.
How my course at college helped me at university
It made my first and second year a breeze because it was a repeat of Level 3, the surveying/scale drawing module and Auto CAD. So I was glad I had my course for reference.
My interview for Laing’s
At my interview with Laing’s 4 years ago, the interviewee was interested in my time at the college more than my first year at university - that’s when I realised how lucky I was by attending the college.
On my application I mentioned when I was in high school I spent one day at the college and another day at Leeds University shadowing the Maintenance Team. So they wanted to hear about that in more details as to why I chose to spend 2 out of 5 days away from my high school and friends.
My advice to current students
Do work experiences as much as you can, ask your student advisor about getting work experience and chase them up for it, also email companies and ask for any opportunities.
When you do these experiences make contacts, e.g. make a LinkedIn profile and connect with them, build a network because it will help in the future with your university work, look for work opportunities and general advice in the industry (what company to work with, how to improve as a construction manager, planner, QS etc.).
