I love my job and I am passionate about helping employers find the very best people that they can for their business, to ensure their business has stability and can grow and reach its objectives.  I am passionate about helping job seekers find a new job, a job that will fulfil their career ambitions, and make a difference to their life.  I am passionate about developing the careers of my team and creating more Project Resource success stories, as we continue to grow and expand in the UK and overseas.  I am passionate about working with valued suppliers that can improve the Project Resource business and helping them grow alongside us.

Passion, it really is a secret ingredient to success, and most importantly continue success.  I hope you enjoyed the post and video, and I wish you every success in all that you do.

A lot of Peter’s observations and thoughts I agree with, however, it seems a little on the pessimistic/ cautious side for my liking, positive mental attitude outlook and what many of the companies that we are working with are showing, through their recruitment activity.

My experience from the lows of 2009-10, is that 2012 is going to be a much better year for UK Construction and UK Infrastructure than the 3 years prior.

I think the current government are doing a good job in difficult circumstances.  They acknowledged in their 2011 Autumn statement and again in the 2012 budget that money is needed for large capital projects (construction and infrastructure related) and that the health of the UK Construction market has a direct correlation to the health of the British economy.

These are interesting and no doubt challenging times, but those that are positive, focused and determined will ultimately come out of these trying times the strongest and most fit for purpose.

We are excited about the growth of our business, growth and development of our teams, expansion opportunities for our UK offices and new Overseas offices.  Our business strategy is clear, the opportunities limitless.  We are recruiting constantly for great people to join us and become part of our success story.  We have more and more jobs in those professions that we specialise in supplying.  It’s all good and getting better.  For your information those jobs that we currently specialise in supplying are:

• commercial & quantity surveying;
• estimating;
• planning & project controls
• design management
• design engineering; and
• Construction Management.

That’s all from me for now.  Peter’s article is worth a read, but remember it’s an overview, an opinion, and not everyone has to have the same opinion. There are always opportunities, you’ve just got to be looking for them and know the difference between a good or bad one.

We strive to be the very best business we can be, so we expect our suppliers to have the same attitude to their business and customer service.  With this in mind we have recently added Sprite to our preferred accountancy services companies that we recommend all contractors that work on assignments via us, to speak with and work through.

Personally I have spoken to 50+ companies in the last 24 months, so I am well placed to know which companies contractors should and should not use. We are very selective in which companies we choose to endorse and recommend to the contractors that we help find work.

Sprite can assist contractors who choose to work through either an umbrella company (Sprite Consultancy Limited) or through a CIS solution (Sprite Construction Limited) which applies as an option to those working in the construction industry. Either way they will look after your accounts and ensure that you are paid the maximum you can achieve, whilst ensuring you pay your taxes and contributions in line with UK laws.

From my meetings with the many contractor service companies, we have three carefully selected contractor service companies that we endorse and work with.

Why did we select these companies to work with?  We choose these companies over the many others that exist due to their high level of customer service, their professionalism and their understanding of our business.  There was also synergy between our businesses as to what we were all trying to achieve and our dedication to high standards.

Sprite is focused on delivering great service and results for it’s customers, they take pride in their work and reputation.  Sprite are proud members of APSCo and accredited by Professional Passport which demonstrates a high standard of service and compliance within the Professional Staffing Industry.  Jay Pittaway is our contact, and if you have a query, or need advice on working through an Umbrella company or CIS solution, give Jay a call or email him.  Make sure you mention that you found out about Sprite through Project Resource.

If you are currently seeking a contract job, then make sure you register on our website to received job alerts that match your job search requirements.  I hope you found this information of interest.  I am happy to assist you further if you need any advice.

Thankfully, it appears that the contractor and recruitment agency community is well informed. This week’s poll on PCG’s website shows that 77% of respondents stated that the AWR had not affected them at all. This is encouraging as it suggests that agencies and freelancers have kept abreast of the new rules and are largely aware that the regulations will tend not to apply to them (if they are in business on their own account).

Of those who did say that the AWR had affected them, 16.3% were affected “a little”, and 6.7% had been affected “a lot” by the AWR.  This means there is still work to be done to inform recruitment agencies and employers about the scope of the new rules.

If  you are an employer and you did not previously attend our AWR seminars last year, you may want to contact us to obtain a copy of “The APSCo Guide to Agency Worker Regulations (2011-2012)’.  This is a very informative and step by step guide which will help you fully understand and comply with the new rules.

Alternatively, feel free to call us and one of our team will be able to help you.

If you are a contractor looking for a reliable and professional recruitment business to represent you, you can review our current job vacancies here, speak to our teams here or register with us here.

If you are a contractor what impact has AWR had on you?

I thought you might like to put a face to the names, so below is the management team.  From left to right: Bill Wynn (Director), Richard Evans (Regional Manager - London & South East), Derek Scott (Director), Ed Dalton (Regional Manager – Thames Valley, South West & Wales), Claire Prince (Customer Service Manager), Dave Lewis (Regional Manager – Midlands & Anglia), Simon Griffiths (Regional Manager – North of England), Corinne Szklarek (Training Coordinator) and Andrew Szklarek (Sales Director). 

All the team are dedicated to ensuring that we provide an exceptional service to our customers and help you as best we can at all times.  We endeavour to be a 24/7 business and build a partnership with you to be your recruitment partner of choice.

If  any of the team or I can assist you in any way please call us or email me at info@project-resource.co.uk and we will always do our very best to assist.

So what are the functions of a consultant quantity surveyor?

• Traditionally referred to as a Contractors Quantity Surveyor (QS), Professional Quantity Surveyor (PQS) or Private Practice Quantity Surveyor (PQS) they are broadly concerned with contracts, measurement and costs on construction projects. The methods employed, however, cover a range of activities which may include cost planning, value engineering, value management, feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis, life-cycle costing, tendering, valuation, change control, dispute resolution, claims management, project management and cost estimation.

• The QS’s traditional independent role on the team comprising of client, architect, engineer, PQS and contractor has given them a reputation and appreciation for fairness. This, combined with their expertise in the drafting and interpretation of contract documents, enables them to settle issues, value the works fairly and regularly, project final costs, avoid disputes and ensure the effective progress of a project.

• QS’s control construction costs by accurate measurement of the work required on a regular basis, the application of expert knowledge of costs and prices of work, labour, materials and plant required, an understanding of the implications of design decisions at an early stage to ensure that good value is obtained for the money to be expended.

• The technique of measuring quantities from drawings, sketches and specifications prepared by designers, principally architects and engineers, in order to prepare tender/ contract documents, is known in the industry as taking off. The quantities of work taken off  are typically used to prepare bills of quantities (BoQ), which are usually prepared in accordance with a published Standard Method of Measurement (SMM) as agreed on by the QS profession and representatives of the construction industry. This activity is usually completed before the commencement of work on site on a traditional (BoQ) project, the Contractor will then price this document in a competitive tender and be paid according to a measure undertaken on site and applied to each specific work item.

• The benchmark for quality for a Private Practice Surveyor is the RICS’s Chartered Membership MRICS & FRICS. The RICS also has the entry-level non Chartered Membership AssocRICS. AssocRICS acts as a qualification in its own right, however, it also offers a progressive route to Chartered RICS membership for able and willing candidates.

• A number of surveyors who work with Contractors will not hold formal qualifications or RICS membership as in the past project based training was more widely undertaken and considered sufficient, this is slowly changing. Many of these surveyors will hold Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) membership instead.

• QS’s are prevalent in many industries (not just construction) as they are procurement and contract specialists with the ability to adapt techniques to suit the form of contract or work being undertaken.

Find Quantity Surveying job vacancies

For those currently looking for a job as a QS, there could not be a better time. The sector is growing, and there are plenty of opportunities available. Check out our top QS jobs, or call our teams around the UK to talk over your job search or job vacancy requirements.

One of the many things that we do to reward to our high achievers is to take them to the best restaurants in the UK a few times per year.  So I am delighted to say that last Friday we had the pleasure of taking several of the team to Rhodes 24, located at Tower 42, in central London.

It was a great venue, the food was truly EPIC, we enjoyed a good 3 hour lunch and had a great time.  You can read my Rhodes 24 review here.

After our EPIC meal we then had a few drinks at Vertigo 42, an exclusive bar on the 42nd floor, available by reservation only.  This was also great and gave fantastic views across London.  We could discuss all the iconic buildings that we have supplied people to work on.  We could even see our London office, near the BT tower.  You can read my Vertigo 42 review here.

The night did not finish there, we went to several pubs, a night club and the party went on into the early hours…remember…we party hard!

If you’d like to join our team and be part of our growing business we are always on the look out for driven and ambitious people.  You can view our current job openings here.

For more photos from the night click here.

Next we look forward to the team hitting their sales targets, so we can take them all to beautiful Barcelona.

We have recently added six new categories to our blog, which mirror the core areas of recruitment expertise that Project Resource specialise in supplying to employers.  If you work in these professions and have something to say about your profession and the events that effect it/ you,  then you can do this right here and reach out to our readership, which right now sits at about 4000 unique readers per month.  In addition, you will be promoting yourself and your business at the same time, so it is all good promotion/ marketing for you.

Our new profession categories are:

Commercial Management

Design Engineering

Design Management

Estimating

Planning

Project Controls

Quantity Surveying

You can email us, if you would to know more or for us to call you and discuss how we can help each other.

• the creation of infrastructure for the supply of the right information and its update;
• the establishment of a way to communicate disparities of project parameters;
• the development of project information technology based on an intranet or the determination of a project key performance index system (KPI);
• divergence analyses and generation of proposals for potential project regulations;
• the establishment of methods to accomplish an appropriate project structure, project workflow organization, project control and governance; and
• creation of transparency among the project parameters.

Fulfillment and implementation of these tasks can be achieved by applying specific methods and instruments of project controlling. The following methods of project controlling can be applied:

• investment analysis;
• cost–benefit analyses;
• value benefit analysis;
• expert surveys;
• simulation calculations;
• risk-profile analyses;
• surcharge calculations;
• milestone trend analysis;
• cost trend analysis;
• target/actual-comparison.

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget. Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees.

Find Project Controls job vacancies

For those currently looking for a job as a Project Controller, there could not be a better time. The sector is growing, and there are plenty of opportunities available. Check out our top Project Controls jobs, or call our teams around the UK to talk over your job search or job vacancy requirements.