Two brothers who both work for construction company Clegg are highlighting the different career routes into the building industry.
As many students start to plan their move into the world of work and during National Careers Week, Paddy Webb and his brother Cian Webb have shared their respective experiences of entering the construction sector.
Paddy, age 24, joined Nottingham-headquartered Clegg Construction five years ago as a management trainee after completing A-levels at Trinity Catholic School, Nottingham. Last summer, he graduated with a BSc Honours in Construction Management at Nottingham Trent University.
He is currently working in Littleover, Derby, as a site manager on the new Middleton Lodge Care Home being built by Clegg Construction for Avery Healthcare. Before that he was assistant site manager at a housing development in Wormley, Hertfordshire, where Clegg built 13 new homes in partnership with Broxbourne Borough Council. Prior to this, Paddy played an instrumental role in the delivery of other flagship schemes across a range of sectors, including the design and build of Nottingham Trent University’s RIBA award-winning Lyth Building, the development of a 324-bed student accommodation project in Sheffield, plus the construction of Trent Valley Crematorium in Aston-on-Trent, Derbyshire.
Meanwhile Cian, age 21, joined the company three years ago after completing A-levels and a brief stint in a customer service role. He began as a construction trainee working on-site at Lonsdale Mews Care Home in Quorn for a year and, whilst getting to know the business and the various different facets of the construction and pre-construction process, became interested in pursuing a role in bid management. In summer 2021, Cian embarked on a new role as assistant bid manager working out of Clegg’s offices in High Pavement in the Lace Market. Like his older brother, Cian is studying towards a BSc Honours in Construction Management at Nottingham Trent University, and has recently passed the third year of his five-year course.
Both part-time university degrees have been funded by Clegg – allowing Paddy and Cian to study and earn at the same time.
Paddy said: “The company has been very supportive throughout – providing study days for university, mentoring from staff members, offering support on-site when I encounter unfamiliar or complicated parts of the job, and giving me responsibility to undertake new tasks to help me gain experience.
“No two days are the same. I meet different people, I face different situations and I am involved in different projects. I’m currently managing the Wormley housing project, which is delivering 13 homes. My role involves day-to-day management of the project which includes programme managing, record keeping, monitoring sub-contractors, quality management, client liaison and much more.”
Cian works with the pre-construction department at Clegg – bidding for multi-million-pound projects. His role includes compiling and writing bid documents, analysing tender documents, risk management, attending internal launch and mid tender meetings, as well as client interviews and liaison.
After graduating, he’s hoping to work his way up within pre-construction, becoming bid manager, then pre-construction manager, with a long-term aspiration as – may be one day – pre-construction director.
“I really enjoy working with the pre-construction team,” said Cian. “Everybody is supportive and helpful to my progression. I enjoy compiling well-presented and detailed bids that could eventually win us new work and play a key role in bringing to life projects that started as an idea.
“It is exciting seeing a project take shape from tender stage through to contract award through to practical completion and being part of the contractor who has delivered it for our clients. It’s a fantastic working environment at Clegg; I am grateful to the company for giving me the opportunity to pursue a different role; one that I had never heard of or considered prior to starting my career in the construction industry.”
Communication, organisation and commitment are the three key skills needed for his job in site management, reckons Paddy, whilst Cian believes that good communication skills, strong business process understanding and attention to detail are the three top skills necessary for bid management.
Clegg Construction is a Midlands, East Anglia, and Yorkshire-based construction firm specialising in the delivery of public and private sector projects.
The company works with organisations of all sizes and specialities across a range of different sectors.
