In this month’s Meet a Member, Alex Pimley, director at The Construction Consultants talks vocational courses, working in Sydney, and the outdoors
What made you choose construction? What else would you have done?
I started out in retail but realised it was not the long-term career for me. I have always been interested in buildings and knew how important they were to all of us, given the amount of time we all spend in them! I did a second degree at the University of Reading and got my first job at Rider Levett Bucknall in the building surveying department before moving to Sydney for a few years where I worked for Knight Frank and DTZ as a project manager. I would have probably ended up following my brother into insurance if I didn’t go into construction.
What do you love about your job?
Every day is different. You meet a lot of people and it’s a job that forces you to constantly develop and improve. It’s a career that also rewards you if you work hard.
What would you like to change about the industry?
Professional bodies such as the CIOB have done a lot to improve people’s perception of the industry but we all still have a way to go. We need greater diversity and improved gender mix at all levels and more support for potential employees that don’t go through the usual university route. I struggled getting into the big companies via the graduate training schemes and a lot of really talented people are daunted by them as they cater towards a particular type of graduate. We need a big push on the vocational routes in my opinion.
What do you do with your spare time?
I try to spend as much time as possible with my son Arthur and wife Emma while desperately trying to beat my father in-law at golf… We love the outdoors so try and spend as much time enjoying it as possible.
