
We first welcomed Mason Henwood, our Trainee Surveyor, to Rund in September 2023 to complete a one-year placement with us as part of his degree in Building Surveying from Liverpool John Moores University.
How quickly the year has gone – with yesterday marking Mason’s last day of his placement before he prepares to tackle the final year of his course.
It has been an absolute pleasure supporting Mason’s progression over the past year, with his initial goal to put his growing knowledge in residential and commercial property into practice within the output of a professional consultancy such as Rund. As anybody in the business can vouch, Mason has come a long way in increasing both his confidence in a working environment and in his technical knowledge, and we are incredibly proud of his journey.
To round up his year at Rund, we sat with Mason to discuss his key highlights and next steps for his career:
1. Can you describe the main responsibilities you had during your placement?
The main responsibilities I had during my placement were contract administration, completing handovers, ensuring that handover documents were in place, ensuring that asset components spreadsheets were complete, completing Reinstatement Cost Assessments and Order of Cost Estimates, and minute taking/drafting.
2. Were there any particular skills or knowledge areas you focused on developing?
I would say the skills I focused on developing the most were CostX software and contract reviews.
3. What was your favourite project that you worked on and why?
I would have to say Coppies Grove [Barnet Homes] and Mill Road [Telford Homes] took the top spot, both with different complexities surrounding the projects. Coppies Road was an ever-changing cost estimate which required a lot of client input and dealing with these changes on a tight timescale, which challenged me to really focus on getting this done with accuracy and effective time management. Mill Road is, again, a complex project but involved much more of the project management side, with two contracts to adhere to and challenging site operations. I feel this is where I learned the most aspects of being an effective project manager.
4. What were your expectations before starting the placement, and how did the reality compare?
I initially thought I would be doing dilapidation works and focusing more on a building surveying role, however, where the business is built around providing a multidisciplined consultancy service, I have been given the opportunity to develop other areas of my surveying skills.
5. Can you share a moment or project that was particularly challenging and how you overcame it?
Mayes Yard [Bedford Borough Council] was an especially hard project; I was fairly new to using CostX and this was a pretty significant project. It had a few aspects to it which were unfamiliar and required me to outsource some numbers from a demolition contractor. The really tough part was getting it done in such a small timescale. I managed to overcome the challenge by having Ben Worby be on standby for any questions.
6. How did you find the work culture and environment at Rund?
The work culture is super impressive, and it shows that the quality of Rund’s staff is very high compared to the rest of the industry. It is very beneficial to the new graduates as there is a fountain of information surrounding them and it has really helped me develop as a young surveyor. It is also great that there are work socials that allow you to have some downtime with colleagues as well.
7. How has this placement influenced your career goals or future aspirations?
The placement has shown me that I have a really good opportunity to hone in on my skills as a surveyor here in London with Rund and work on some really impressive projects which is something I wasn’t aware of previously.
8. What are your plans after completing your university course?
I have a few goals and plans in mind; I would like to either come back down to Rund in London and become a chartered surveyor in the coming years or start a property development business with a few of my close friends. Both offer great opportunities, however both come with some drawbacks so I am glad that I have a year to decide which would best suit me! (alternatively, Rund could come to the northwest, and I would be keen to work there!).
We wish Mason the very best of luck for his final year at University.