Apprentice Ashley King describes his qualifications journey

Blog Post
Ashley King - building control

Ashley King is a Building Control Apprentice at London Borough of Havering and loves what he's learning with LABC qualifications while he's carrying out his day job...

What made you decide to work in public service building control?

I have always had an eye for the construction industry although my background says otherwise. It interests me about how different building works are carried out and in which stages. I read up some job descriptions on different roles within building control and everything was very positive. Having that flexibility of working in the office, going out on site and working from home really suited my personality.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy having the flexibility of coming into the office of a morning and then heading out in the early afternoon to carry out site visits. I think this is a great mixture and keeps you very healthy. As well as this, there are huge amounts of information to learn and every day is a learning curve, so for me to think that if I might be working in building control for another 10-15 years and still learning on the job is amazing.

What’s a typical day like in building control?

A typical day for me involves coming into the office early to make sure all my emails have been sent, that I've responded to other emails and reports have been run. I plan for the day while doing this and then head out around lunchtime for the site visits. Once these have been completed, it's either back to the office or most likely heading home to finish writing up my reports on what happened that day.

What qualification are you studying and why?

I am currently studying the Level 3 Technical Support in Public Service Building standards which is coming to an end in late July 2020, and I'm trying to secure a place on the Level 6 BSc (Hons) in Building Control (Apprenticeship Degree) - University of Wolverhampton (4 years), as I want to keep educating myself while I have the time to. I chose this course as an opener into building control. I've only been in my building control role for the best part of six months and for me to really excel and progress within this industry, I want to keep pushing myself to the maximum of my studying abilities.

I've learned so much within a small space of time and this has happened due to the real life experiences, interactive sessions and lectures, and having the people around me that will always offer a helping hand when I need it.
Ashley King

How are your studies positively affecting your day to day role and your career prospects?

My studies are positively affecting my day as not only do I focus on my usual day to day roles, but this breaks up some of my work as I can focus on different things at the same time. As well as this, it helps me plan my days better because I can set out different tasks and put a deadline on things that need to be completed sooner rather than later.

What’s next for you in your career?

The next step for me is to progress onto the apprenticeship degree which is a four year process. I'll then take the steps from Building Control Apprentice Surveyor to becoming a permanent member of the building control technical support team and then hopefully moving closer to a full time building control surveyor role.

What advice would you give to someone considering joining LABC's qualification pathway? 

My advice would be to 100% go for it! I've learned so much within a small space of time and this has happened due to the real life experiences, interactive sessions and lectures, and having the people around me that will always offer a helping hand when I need it.

Find out more about LABC qualifications

Or discover a career in building control

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