Committed To Supporting The Next Generation of Professionals with Jack Lingard
At Banks Long & Co we have always been passionate about supporting the next generation of commercial property experts within the early stages of their education and career. In this article, we wanted to tell the story of Jack Lingard, a work placement student from Birmingham City University who has been with us since August last year on a 12 month placement.
Currently undertaking his degree in Building Surveying, Jack chose to take a ‘sandwich year’ between his second and third years of study to gain more insight and practical hands-on experience within the sector.
Under the mentorship of our own Simon Bridge, Jack joined the Building & Cost Consultancy Division, to support with the primary responsibilities of conducting schedule of condition surveys, contract administration, and employer’s agent site visits. Jack's role has helped to expose him to various aspects of the commercial property industry, allowing him to understand the intricacies of the business, work with clients on a day to day basis, and learn new skills in CAD and other industry software.
Jack commented “Taking the theory from the classroom to the actual implementation in the field has been an incredible experience. These past few months I have really expanded my skill base and developed a professional network of contacts that I could never have got in an education setting. That sort of experience is priceless at this stage in my career, and I feel that returning to university later this year, I will be in a much stronger position to accelerate my learning.”
“Within the placement I have gained so much more confidence and understanding of building pathology and terminology, contractor relations, and the role that I will go on to play within the industry. It has certainly also given me a lot of foundation and thoughts for the dissertation that will be coming up soon in my final year of university.”
Simon Bridge, Director, said, "We are thrilled to have had Jack on board for his placement year. We always strive to invest in the next generation of talent entering our sector whether that be through placement years or our growing graduate programme. The learning taken from these past few months will be really valuable for Jack to take back to university and complete his studies”.
As Jack embarks on his final months of placement with us, we wanted to thank him for his contributions, and wish him every success in the next exciting chapter of his professional journey.