I LOVE MY JOB!
John Hayles, Pre-Constructon Manager, Kier Constructon Eastern
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Where did you go to school? Whitley Bay, just outside Newcastle
upon Tyne on the NE coast
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What path did you take to get to your current positon? I qualified
as an architect but took a year out working on a constructon site in the US . On returning
to the UK I always envied people who worked on real projects rather than drawing them. I
started working in the design department of a large contractor then progressed to design
management, then project management. When I joined Kier contractors were startng to
do more and more design work and I progressed from design management to bid
management, then pre-constructon management.
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What subjects did you study? Maths, Physics and rt at
-level, t University I studied
architecture.
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How many jobs have you had, and can you name them? Early days - bar staff, car park
atendant, tea boy on site, shop assistant/shelf filler. Professional -Site Engineer, rchitect,
Project Manager, Design Manager, Head of Design Management, Bid Manager,
Pre-Constructon Manager
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What school subjects link to your career? Maths, Physics and rt link the artstc and
technical sides of architecture
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typical day in your current role looks like: 8am arrive in the office. Check with our
Design Manager on the progress of our consultants who may be doing design work for us.
lso check with other in-house people to see how work on bids is progressing, Estmators
and Planners in partcular. Present new project opportunites to our Directors and chair
meetngs to discuss new projects and agree our actons and strategy to win tenders and
deliver successful designs, costs and programmes. Some days visit sites and clients to
gather informaton about projects. lso, sometmes I lead our teams in meetngs with
clients to develop designs and proposals for new buildings.
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What skills do you use daily, that you learnt at school? Basic maths and writng skills. lso,
some of my physics comes in handy because it helps me understand the technical side of
how building work. My art is also useful because we sketch things all the tme, such as
building designs, site layouts and even things like how a crane will be located on a site.
