Fairgrove gives work placements the thumbs up

Ilkeston, Derbyshire and Nottingham, [11 July 2005] Increasing numbers of students are taking a year out of studies to find out about life in the real world – a change welcomed by Steve Midgley, managing director of Ilkeston-based Fairgrove Homes.

Speaking at the end of his first year of accepting work placement students, Steve comments: “As a father of a university student, I have seen the academic advantages of higher education. However, university has its limitations – lecture room based teaching is sometimes no substitute for practical job-based training. And as anyone knows, funding a course at university involves a fairly serious financial commitment. Courses involving a work placement route seem to be a perfect answer to these problems as they provide the option of developing academic excellence while establishing tangible business skills that can be taken into the world of work. And of course, students get paid while on placement, thereby reducing their debt burden.”

Fairgrove’s first work placement student was Man Sang Ng, a BSc Planning & Residential Development student from Nottingham Trent University. In his time at Fairgrove, Man has worked as the company’s land assistant. This involved meeting with clients, planning groups, highways committees and councils as well as undertaking detailed research proposals. “My placement with Fairgrove has given me a real flavour of how the construction industry works,” says Man. “The role of land assistant has given me a chance to meet with a wide variety of people and develop my communication, management and teamwork skills. It’s also helped my studies as I now have practical knowledge of planning and a much better understanding of how the construction industry works. The role has also helped me understand the needs of homebuyers and I now have skills in identifying potential brownfield sites in suburban locations that are excellent bases for commuters.”

Man’s enthusiasm for the home build industry has grown during his year out: “I’ve really enjoyed my year out at Fairgrove, and would like to thank all the staff for their help. I feel I have learned a lot and am certainly interested in pursuing a land buyer role in the construction industry when I graduate from university next year.”

“We have seen Man develop practical skills, which he can take into new jobs after graduating,” says Steve. We’re happy with how Man has progressed and would now like to welcome David Herbert, a design student from Nottingham Trent University who is joining us as a design and technical assistant for one year.”

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