Joseph Francis

I owned a small groundworks company for 4 and a half years. I would do everything from meeting customers to survey works and provide quotes, Measure quantities of materials needed, through to hands on work on the tools, teaching less experienced groundworkers and labourers the correct and safe way to complete tasks. I would also do all invoicing and filing that was required.

Being a Project Manager in construction was where I always strived to be. I had full control of the groundworks on various building sites from commercial projects such as a care home with a swimming pool, to new-build housing sites with upto approximately 500 houses being built. I would have several teams of groundworkers under my management and delegate all works to ensure the site was working productively, correctly and that all works were carried out in a safe manor. I would complete timesheets for staff and organize any materials to be on site at the correct time, ready for use. I had a lot of responsibility, I would have daily and weekly inspections to conduct and monitor the well being of upto 60 men each day. I would give advice to anybody who was unsure of their job and thrive from being able to give somebody new knowledge.

I became a Site Supervisor at the age of 23 and was the youngest person in the company of 500 staff to do so. I had a lot of ambition and made it my mission to perform to the best of my ability every day to further improve myself. I would give advice to people who were unsure about works and studied every aspect of groundworks so that I was confident in my work and ability. The first site I supervised had 4 houses on and 4 men under my supervision. As each site was completed successfully and safely I was given more responsibility, more staff to monitor and more houses to build. I am very proud that I managed to succeed at a young age.

I began as a labourer at Westpoint Construction and picked things up quickly, I progressed to become a qualified groundworker and wanted to learn as much as could to take the next step in my career. I eventually became a Ganger man and ran a team of 3 men under my direct supervision. We covered all aspects of groundworks from roads and sewers/deep drainage, all types of foundations, domestic drainage, concreting, brickwork, tarmacking and finishing works. I would lead my team and ensure all works were completed correctly and safely, teaching and giving any advice required.