Profile
Richard Caines
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About Me:
I have lived in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and have travelled around the world with my job. I am an Arsenal supporter, play MarioKart and I love building things!
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I grew up in Essex and when I was at school I either wanted to be a plumber as I didn’t know what options were available to me when I left school. I went to a comprehensive school and History was my favourite subject as there were so many different opinions around events and how they impacted the world we live in today.
I never thought I would be able to go to University, however I received some really good advice and enrolled on a Construction Management course at College, which is a starter course for anyone looking to become an Architect, Project Manager, Engineer or Quantity Surveyor.
In my professional career, I have been able to travel with my work, which has exposed me to many different cultures and ways of life.
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My Work:
My job involves setting up and running construction projects, making sure they finish on time and on budget. One day I could be writing a contract, the next day I could be on a construction site seeing the job get built.
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A Quantity Surveyor’s role is to make sure that throughout a construction project, the Contractor building the project works on time, on budget and according to their contract. This involves setting up the Project correctly, making sure people hit their objectives and deadlines and negotiating with the Contractor when things don’t go to plan.
It will be a balance between working in an office, and being outdoors on construction projects. Some days you will be at a desk managing Contracts, other days you will be on site monitoring progress and measuring how much work has been completed.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up at 7am and have breakfast (Coffee, eggs and bacon). Around 8am I begin to check my emails from the day before and make sure there is nothing urgent to do.. Usually I will attend meetings with the builder to make sure they are making progress on the construction project. I deal with everyone to make sure there are no issues stopping progress. I have a lunch break and then in the afternoon I will be working with the project team to make sure plans are in place for the week ahead. My job involves dealing with lots of people from lots of different backgrounds.
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A big part of my job is helping all the different people on a construction project work together. I make sure people get paid on time, get approvals to complete the work, make sure cranes and equipment are on site when they are needed and agree any extra work the builder may need to do.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would invest it back into my local community to promote students pursuing Construction Management roles as a career in the future. I see it as a great pathway for working class backgrounds to get into upper management and decision making roles.
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Education:
Abbs Cross Secondary School, Hornchurch
Havering Construction College, Rainham
Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford
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Qualifications:
10 GSCE’s A*-C (A – History, English, ICT / C – Maths)
Higher National Diploma (BTEC) in Construction Management
Bachelors Degree in Quantity Surveying 2:1
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Work History:
I started working at 14! I worked in a Butcher’s shop whilst I was at school and college and it taught me many important lessons like to never look down on work and how to deal with people.
My first job in Construction was at 18, where I worked for an Asbestos removal company in London.
I joined a company called Skanska and worked on a 20 storey office in Central London, right next to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
When I was 21, I was offered a job in Amsterdam, and moved countries to live there for 4 years! I built a project for Microsoft to help increase their cloud size for online storage. I then moved to Copenhagen in Denmark to help do the same for Facebook.
I moved back to the UK in 2019, and started working as an Independent Consultant, working mainly in Central London helping build office spaces in Shaftesbury Avenue and Moorgate.
Now I work at Johnson Matthey, and work in London, Sweden, Lancashire and many other places, helping build some really technical buildings and laboratories.
I have built houses, hospitals, data centres, office blocks, schools, apartments, shops and roads in my career.
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Current Job:
Senior Quantity Surveyor
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Employer:
Johnson Matthey
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
A Plumber.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I was. not for being naughty, but as I often got distracted in certain subjects!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
The Armed Forces or as a tradesman
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Oasis
What's your favourite food?
Pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Live a long and happy life / Get to live in the USA / Fly a jet
Tell us a joke.
What's a ghost's favourite fruit? A boo-berry
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