Medway UTC students visited the construction of new homes in Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent, Britain’s first garden city for 100 years, to learn about construction management. The visit forms part of a module in the BTEC in the Built Environment and they were invited by Redrow Homes, a Flintshire based residential developer, who are constructing 950 homes on the Ebbsfleet Green site.
Mike Tynan, area construction manager for Redrow Homes, gave the students a tour of the development, introduced them to the on-site management team and guided them through the role of a site manager including health and safety, maintaining quality standards and delivering homes on schedule.
The project will continue long after the students have completed their course meaning students could return to the development as site managers in the future. Speaking about the visit, Mike said:
Ebbsfleet Garden City is a once in a lifetime project to be involved in with so many different elements being developed by various organisations. The best site managers I know work hard, are self-motivated and can drive other people to fulfil a vision. Experience comes with time, but we need to develop managers for the future.
If one or two of the Medway UTC students who visited Ebbsfleet Green make it into management we will have succeeded because we will have inspired them to progress. They could be site managers or project managers in 10 years’ time.
Stephen Okoro, from Medway UTC, said:
We’re grateful to Redrow for sharing their expertise with the students and giving them the opportunity to see how the things they learn in the classroom as part of the BTEC in the Built Environment relate to the work place. The life cycle of Ebbsfleet Garden City means that there’s potential for our students to work there and perhaps even manage at least part of the site.
To discover more visit www.medwayutc.co.uk
For more information about training opportunities with Redrow visit:
