Commercial team hat-trick of academic success!
It’s been a hat trick of celebrations in our Commercial team this month, after 3 of our team successfully completed their academic courses!
Development of Project Management skills
The first congratulations goes to our Quantity Surveyor, Jack Ramshaw, who passed his NVQ in Project Management! Jack joined McCann as a Quantity Surveyor and, more recently, transitioned into a Project Manager role on our Section 278/38 projects on the A5, in addition to his QS responsibilities for those projects. To aid with the transition, Jack undertook a Level 6 NVQ in Construction Site Management (Construction) – Building and Civil Engineering, from the National Open College Network.
Over 12 months, with one day of training each week, he covered establishing, controlling, and monitoring every aspect of project management in construction, including programmes, quality standards, materials and plant, site preparation, health and safety, and environmental and sustainability factors. The course also addressed personal development, monitoring people’s performance, teamwork, and good occupational working relationships.
When discussing his achievement, Jack explained that dedicating the time to the course, alongside balancing working full-time and personal life, was challenging at times. Luckily, the mentors and assessors from the course, Geoff and Bob, were extremely accommodating throughout. Despite the balancing act, learning on the course alongside working full-time was extremely beneficial. It allowed him to learn the theory and then apply what he had learned to everyday practice. It helped transition from commercial-based work to having a practical, hands-on, boots-on-the-ground experience.
Double degree success
Another big congratulations goes to our Quantity Surveyors, Daniil Sobaleu and Joe Cronin, who have both completed their Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship in Quantity Surveying BSc (Hons)!
Sponsored by McCann’s, Daniil and Joe started the Chartered Surveyor, Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship (Quantity Surveyor Pathway) BSc (Hons) course at Nottingham Trent University in October 2020, and both completed in May 2025. They both worked full time at McCann alongside going to university for one day a week and fitting university work into their weekend and evenings. We sat down with them to talk about their achievements, discuss how they’ve found the last 5 years, and whether they would recommend a degree apprenticeship as a pathway into a construction career.
Over the past 5 years, working towards their Quantity Surveyor degree, they have covered modules such as practice in the workplace, law, measurement, construction technology, cost planning and estimating, project and financial management, and sustainable technology with environmental control. The course was a mixture of exams, with 1-2 being at the end of each year, and 80-90% coursework.
Daniil and Joe both explained that earning their degrees while working full time provided practical, real-world experience to complement their classroom education. It allowed them to see how their studies applied to actual jobs and situations, including CVRs and general Quantity Surveying, all while earning a salary! They would encourage anyone thinking of starting a career in construction or Quantity Surveying to look at the degree apprenticeship route.
Speaking on what’s next, Daniil explained that they have finished the main course but still have the chartership to achieve over the next year. This requires a portfolio of work experience, a case study on a problem solved within work, daily diaries, and then a presentation and interview.
On top of achieving his degree, Joe was also recognised by Nottingham Trent University at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Award for the Best Dissertation of the Cohort.
The topic of his dissertation focused on the effect of night shifts on construction workers and how lack of sleep and changing sleep patterns affect their safety at work. His research suggested ways to improve workers’ wellbeing during night shifts, such as using lightbox therapy lights to mimic sunlight during site safety briefings, adopting four-day working weeks to provide more rest days, and improving access to healthier food and snack options.
Congratulations to Daniil, Jack and Joe on these amazing academic achievements. We wish you all the success for your future careers at McCann!
