Last September, #TeamTrident gained a new member in Tristan Dodwell-Cooke, who joined our Liverpool team as an Apprentice Building Surveyor.
This week marks ‘National Apprenticeship Week’, a celebration of the benefits apprenticeships bring to the individual and employers, so we thought it would be a great time to check in with Tristan to see how he is getting on.
Settling in
Tristan is undertaking a Chartered Surveyor Degree Apprenticeship through the University of Salford, combining his academic studies with invaluable hands-on experience in our Liverpool office.
“The first few months have been great” he says, “with everyone in the office being really welcoming, helping me to settle in as soon as I joined”.
This apprenticeship provides Tristan with the opportunity to assist our expert surveyors on diverse projects, exposing him to the full spectrum of our services.
“I have been involved with a variety of different projects and the work has been both challenging and varied – no two days are the same!”
Hitting the ground running
“When starting my apprenticeship, I wasn’t fully sure what to expect from the job” Tristan confessed “the only experience of it I had was a week’s worth of work experience in the Trident London office”
However, any apprehension quickly went away “I was surprised how quickly I got into the job” Tristan continued, “as I started helping to work on projects almost instantly and I had my first site visit within a week.
I’ve learnt so much already! One of the top skills I have gained so far is heightened observational skills. When on building inspections, I have learnt its key to be able to spot even minor defects that would usually go unnoticed!”
Why apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships are a highly sought after route to become a Chartered Building Surveyor as opposed to the traditional degree route, as the skills learned on the job help with studying and vice versa.
“The skills I have gained in the first few months are from doing the job day in day out, the experience is invaluable as it’s something that can’t be taught at university”
Find out more
Want to find out more about our apprenticeship programme? Please click here to visit our work with us page.
After a great first few months, we can’t wait to see how Tristan gets on. If you would like to get in touch with Tristan, please email: tristan.dodwellcooke@tridentbc.com.