Site Engineer / Technician

The role

• Supervise the labour force
• Plan work to be done
• Organise plant and site facilities to meet deadlines
• Prepare reports
• Make sure quality of health and safety on site is high
• Problem solving as issues arise
• Acting as the main technical adviser on a construction site for all subcontractors, crafts people and operatives
• Setting out, levelling and surveying the site
• Checking the sums are right on plans, drawings and quantities and that all materials and work are to the specifications.
• Overseeing the selection and requisition of materials and plant (heavy machinery), agreeing prices and sticking to the documents supplied by the client or architect

Qualifications and training

You need a good standard of GCSEs and A-levels (or equivalent) so you can study at degree level. You can start out without a degree or HNC/HND through a technical construction apprenticeship – or working in a position such as trainee technician while doing further study.  

Employers and recruitment agencies in construction usually ask for a degree or HNC/HND in a construction-related, or construction engineering discipline. The following subjects may increase your chances:

• Civil engineering
• Structural engineering
• Building surveying
• Building engineering
• Construction studies

It’s important that your degree is accredited and meets the academic requirements of a relevant professional body. The main one in construction is the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), while in engineering the key professional bodies are the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). Graduates with non-accredited or unrelated degrees must do a conversion course to upgrade their construction qualifications.

Pre-entry experience in construction or engineering is very useful and highly regarded by employers. Vacation or sandwich placements are good ways of gaining industry experience, particularly if your degree is not directly relevant to the role. Work experience also gives you a good understanding of the sector, the skills required and whether you’re suited to jobs in the construction industry. 

There are also many postgraduate courses available in construction and engineering, designed for existing professionals in the industry. Chartered status can be acquired by registering with a professional institution such as the Chartered Institue of Building or any of those listed above.