Concrete Technician
Thomas's job title is Construction Materials Technician at Balfour Beatty
I ensure all concrete, aggregates and asphalts are tested to make sure they’re fit for purpose and in line with the required standards. As well as running checks on materials, I’m responsible for calibrating machines and analysing statistics. A lot of the work is on-site.
Hear more about Thomas's role by watching the video below...
In the morning I’ll do laboratory testing, maybe crushing concrete cubes and I might sort out aggregate testing. I’ll make phone calls to see what needs to be tested on-site – this could be concrete, a plate test or testing the ground. We do loads of different tests. Typically, we do concrete pour testing as it goes in and spot checking. You have to communicate with a lot of different people on-site and you get exposed to a lot of the business. I would say my job is about 30% in the office and 70% on site.
Being able to go on-site and be exposed to different parts of the business - you get a taste of everything. My favourite thing is probably going on-site to deliver information to Engineers and supervisors, to let them know if things have passed or not. You are really important and valued on-site and everyone asks you for information. Having that responsibility is great.
There are four people in our team. I like the fact that it’s not massive and we are like a little family. We can rely on each other, and you are never working alone, you always get a helping hand. My teammate Billy has recently finished his apprenticeship, and he has shown me lots of things - he is always sharing the techniques he’s learned. Another one of our team is a graduate and so I can teach him things.
One thing has been the Balfour Beatty Brathay Challenge. It is similar to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, but it promotes apprenticeships. You go to the Lake District to do a challenge and team-building exercises. They do it for all apprentices in their second year and it is great fun.
I don’t have a specific target, but I would like to get into Civil Engineering and get involved in design. I can access lots of different areas of the business in the role I’m in, so there are a lot of opportunities. I do want to progress and become more senior, so I’d love to be a Civil Engineer in five years. I have a lot of technical knowledge that graduates don’t really have, so I think I am a step ahead.
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