Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you’ll do at work
Project Controllers are a crucial part of a project team and
a key profession in the exciting world of construction & engineering
projects. You’ll develop a diverse range of skills including project planning
& scheduling, cost estimating, and risk management.
It might help to know more about what Project Controls is...
Most people have heard of Project Managers, Project
Controllers work alongside Project Managers to deliver successful projects.
Other job titles linked to Project Controls are Planners, Planning Engineers,
Schedulers, Cost Engineers, Cost Estimators.
Project Controllers provide data-driven insights to enable
Project Managers to make decisions.
Think of a project as flying a plane, the project controller
is the navigator to the project manager ‘pilot’. The navigator plans the
flightpath and considers duration, speed, risks (bad weather, turbulence). The
navigator ultimately enables the pilot to reach the destination.
Project Controllers are focused on the timeline and cost of
the project: planning the stages, measuring progress and anticipating risks.
This involves communicating with lots of people involved in the project (i.e.
designers, engineers, trades people). They collect, manage and analyse data
through creating spreadsheets and graphs using specific project controls
software. VERY importantly, Project Controllers need to be able to explain and
present this (often complex) data and findings in ways which others involved in
the project will understand.
You will be:
- Planning: Creating and managing
detailed plans and programmes of works on a variety of interesting construction
projects, using project controls related software and IT systems
- Scheduling: Ensuring that
activities happen on time
- Progress monitoring: Tracking
data and producing project performance reports, which measure and illustrate
progress against project targets
- Attending and contributing to
planning and progress meetings
- Controlling quality: Ensuring
that the project’s fulfil their requirements
- Cost control: Ensuring the work
is performed within budget
- Risk management: Identifying,
analysing and managing risks
This is a great opportunity to learn the essential skills
that are already in high demand across the industry, setting you up for
unlimited progression and fantastic earning potential.
You don’t need to be studying any specific subject to apply,
but if you enjoy subjects like Business Studies, IT, Law, Design Technology,
and/or Maths you might enjoy project controls. The day-to-day duties involved
in Project Controls involves skills linked to these subjects.