National Apprenticeship Week with Aimee Dosanjh

8th February 2024

In support of National Apprenticeship Week, we caught up with Aimee Dosanjh, who shares insights into her role as Assistant Quantity Surveyor.

Aimee is currently an Assistant Quantity Surveyor at Derby Kingsway Hospital. This project is being delivered by Integrated Health Projects (IHP), a joint venture between VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine. Now six months into her time with Sir Robert McAlpine, Aimee had plenty to share about her experience and how the apprenticeship route has been one of the most rewarding choices of her career so far.

“I started my journey with a different company, but the nature of the apprenticeship programme means you’re able to move between companies without losing any of the credits you’ve earned, so it was a really easy switch,” Aimee begins.

The reason behind the move to Sir Robert McAlpine was close to home. Aimee’s mum was – and still is – working with Sir Robert McAlpine as a Document Controller, and as soon as Aimee shared that she was looking to move on from her current job, her mum could not recommend Sir Robert McAlpine more.

“She’s always been very positive about her colleagues and managers, so I had a great first impression already. She helped put me in touch with the right people and I eventually ended up working with her. We actually sit across from each other in the office – but doing very different things!”

A day in the life of a Quantity Surveyor is never the same, Aimee shares. But her area of work deals with the procurement and tender process, and so she can often be found conducting calls and meetings with subcontractors and putting packages together.

Since joining the Derby Kingsway Hospital project, Aimee has been learning more about the particulars of working on a healthcare site and the unique set of challenges and opportunities it poses – ranging from the intricacies of anti-ligature construction to the considerations in place when constructing an acute unit project.

There’s so much an apprenticeship teaches you that a university course doesn’t. I decided to pursue this route specifically for the opportunities it offers in developing practical skills.

The experience has also allowed her to develop #SkillsForLife that she will carry with her for the rest of her career – particularly in terms of time management, communication and confidence.

“My confidence has improved massively. I recently had the opportunity to chair a meeting alone due to a last-minute team absence and surprised myself with how capable I was – it’s one of my proudest achievements to date.

“I think having the opportunity to hone my skills every day – whether by picking up the phone to liaise with contractors or having to communicate with peers – really helped.”

Aimee has had other opportunities for personal development, too. She shares that her managers have encouraged her to complete a technical competency matrix which saw her spend half a day stationed with different departments onsite.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity to learn more about how other people’s roles work alongside my own, and makes it clear just how much of a team we really are. So far, I’ve spent time with the planners, site manager and digital manager.”

Currently, Aimee’s schedule is split between university and work. One day a week is spent at Nottingham Trent University, working towards completing a degree in Quantity Surveying, after which she is hoping to pursue a chartership.

“I really appreciate that my managers understand I have to deal with university assignments as well as day-to-day work. When I have deadlines coming up, they try not to assign me too much work so I have enough capacity to juggle both.”

And what does Aimee have to say to anyone else considering the apprenticeship route?

“Just do it. University is great, but nothing compares to having the hands-on learning experience an apprenticeship allows. And by the end of the course, you have the requisite skills as well as the qualification to show for it.”

“I’ve never regretted my choice – and I’m sure you won’t either!”

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