Johnstone Construction has another 2017 awards finalist
Cadet Quantity Surveyor James Dawson is one of two 'Z People Awards' finalists for the 2017 Training Development Award.
James professional career to date:
"I started my professional career as a recruiter for the construction industry, working 5 years for Hays Recruitment. While this developed my network of contacts and business acumen, I eventually decided that I preferred a seat closer to the action. So, in March 2016 I enrolled in the Bachelor of Construction, majoring in Quantity Surveying at Massey University. Fortuitously, 2 weeks after enrolling I received a phone call from Hugh Johnstone, a former client and Managing Director of Johnstone Construction Ltd, looking for a quantity surveyor. Needless to say the rest is history! I jumped at the opportunity and am loving the career shift. While it’s been a steep learning curve, I’m fortunate to be surrounded by a great team, in an awesome work environment."
James training path:
James likes to review his career and study goals several times a year. He says:
"Within Johnstone Construction we have formal performance reviews where we set goals, and put targets and milestones in place which has allowed me to develop a training path.
I’m very fortunate that Johnstone Construction actively encourages the continued upskilling of their staff. Ongoing training is often the result of informal conversations with company management about what I’d like to achieve and what the company needs or could benefit from. I have therefore attended a range of courses, e.g. Site Safe, Frontline Leadership, MS Project and TopCon GPS, that have added value to my own overall skills development and deepened the competency of the company.
I’m an autodidact so I love to search out and teach myself new processes and skills to supplement my formal training. For example I have taught myself Macros to improve the quality of our estimates.
My long term goal when I enrolled to study Quantity Surveying was to use the skill set as a stepping stone to Project Management. I figured if I was in a Junior PM role for a good contractor within 5 - 10 years I would be doing well.
I’m happy to say 12 months in at Johnstone Construction I’ve already been given my first opportunity to assist in running a project (BP MIllwater). The learning curve was a steep one but the experience was invaluable, especially being on site each day. The exposure to programming, representing the company at progress meetings, and the opportunity to get my hands dirty have all made me a better construction professional. Being onsite each day reinforced how much there is to learn and as a result I’ve taken an active interest in land surveying".