So, you’re interested in a career in quantity surveying?

At Kier, quantity surveyors play a huge role in helping us deliver sustainable construction and infrastructure services across the UK.

You’ll find a quantity surveying role in nearly all areas of our business, whether it’s building a school with Kier Construction, supporting a rail project in Kier Transportation, or delivering water or nuclear power to millions of homes within Kier Natural Resources Nuclear & Networks.

Whilst the specific duties of the role will vary from role to role, the general responsibilities are similar, so if you’re interested in becoming a quantity surveyor at Kier, read on.

What is a quantity surveyor?

As a quantity surveyor, your main responsibility is to ensure a construction project runs on or under budget.

You’d work closely with other quantity surveyors at varying levels of experience. Within a team, you can expect to find a combination of assistant quantity surveyors, quantity surveyors, senior quantity surveyors and managing quantity surveyors, reporting into the commercial manager.

What does a quantity surveyor do?

Generally, your responsibilities are to manage the project budget, source sub-contractors and procure materials for the project you’re working on. You’d work closely with the site team to see how the project is progressing and discussing what more can be done to support. It’s a real mix of on-site and off-site work and no two days are the same.

The role can change as the project develops and you’d also support the bid team in winning new work, offering them quotes on the budget required for the project up for grabs.

“I love how much the work changes from year to year. You get new projects to get stuck into, new people to meet and new teams to work in and it’s brilliant! Seeing a building rise and the project finish makes quantity surveying such a satisfying role, I think it’s a really exciting part of the business to work in.” – Alice Anderson, senior quantity surveyor.

How do you become a quantity surveyor?

To become a quantity surveyor, you need to have a relevant degree which can be earned by attending university full time, or joining Kier as a degree apprentice where we’ll pay for your degree for you.

If you’ve just graduated university, you can join one of our graduate development programmes, supporting you with a variety of development opportunities to succeed as a professional quantity surveyor.

If you’re now an experienced quantity surveyor, we have a range of vacancies available across the UK for all levels of quantity surveyors, and we can support you in achieving professional chartership if required.

“In my experience, Kier has been supportive of my progression and my managers have been great in helping me achieve my accreditations,” – Tatenda Ward, assistant quantity surveyor

Can I do a quantity surveying apprenticeship?

Absolutely! Each year, we recruit for apprentice quantity surveyors across the UK to join us on our degree apprenticeship programme.

Your degree would be completely funded by Kier, and you would join as a permanent employee, meaning you can earn a salary whilst you earn your degree. As an apprentice, you’ll play a key role in the team, surrounded by experienced professionals with the opportunities to put your learnings into practice right away.

You’ll attend university in pre-determined block weeks – with all accommodation and food paid for – and your course will span across four to five years.

Visit our apprenticeships page to find out more about degree apprenticeships and the requirements to apply.

What progression is available for a quantity surveyor?

We’re all about promoting opportunities for our people to develop and progress in their careers and a career in quantity surveying is full of opportunity.

Typically, you would expect the career path for a qualified quantity surveyor to be as follows:

Assistant quantity surveyor

Quantity surveyor

Senior quantity surveyor

Managing quantity surveyor

Commercial director

Interested in becoming a quantity surveyor at Kier? Take a look at our vacancies and apply.