Berkeley Group Graduate Scheme

Narmeen - A Day in the Life of a Technical Graduate at Berkeley Group

8:00AM: Arrive at Head Office, grab a coffee and catch up with colleagues. 

8:30AM: Review all new emails, action those that are priority and also follow up on any flagged emails from the day/week prior.

9:00AM: Review preliminary Sales Plans for our Cranleigh development and advise the Architectural Technician with comments to be actioned.

11:30AM: Attend a meeting with the Technical Director and Landscape Architect, to discuss the scope of works involved with preparing an Advanced Procurement Landscaping Design Guide. Following the meeting, back to my desk to collate a package of information to issue to the Landscape Architect to assist with preparing the preliminary guide.

1:00PM: Lunch usually comprises of a quick trip to M&S and then socialising with colleagues in one of our breakout areas.

2:00PM: Collate the relevant technical information to support an application to discharge the outstanding PreCommencement Planning Conditions for our new development in Effingham.

3:00PM: Prepare a Form of Appointment for the Civil Engineer at our Cranleigh development, and issue out the hard copies in the post.

4:00PM: Prepare and issue a Tender Enquiry for the M&E Package for the upcoming new phase at our Cranleigh development. 

4:30PM: Catch-up with the Senior Technical Manager to review completed and upcoming work for both Cranleigh and Effingham, and create some action points for the following day.

5:00PM: Wrap up the day and head home.

Josh - A Day in the Life of a Commercial Graduate at Berkeley Group

7:45AM: Arrive at the site office, make a cup of tea and check emails. 

8:00AM: Start a walk around site to carry out subcontractor valuations on their recent applications. Some of the valuations I have undertaken recently include; Temporary Electrical services, Brick work, Dry lining and Hoarding. 

10:00AM: Load Payments onto a System and discuss with the Project Director and Commercial Manger about each contractors progress on site. Once progress and other queries have been resolved I send the payment notices out to the contractors.

12:00PM: Lunch - This normally ends up being a trip down to Hammersmith Market.

1:00PM: After lunch I start to price up Site instructions which the Construction team issue to the contractors to get them to carry out works which weren’t originally in their scope 
of works. Once I am happy I have captured the change and priced it up, I sign the instruction and send it out to the contractors.

3:00PM: Prepare Cost reports for upcoming cost meetings with directors of each department. Outlining the variance (extra cost) you are reporting in the month and the explanation of why we are paying for it.

5:00PM: Start to prepare for the next day and then head home

Rebecca - A Day in the Life of a Land and Planning Graduate at Berkeley Group

7:50AM: Arrive at the office. Make myself and my team a tea and write my to-do list for the day.

8:00AM: Continue working on a plot-pricing exercise for our Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks site of 2000 units, looking at the details of each unit and where a premium can be added to the sales value. Details include aspect, view, floor level and whether or not the unit sits within a Listed gasholder. 

10:00AM: Travel into the city to meet our team of architects designing the masterplan for planning submission. Lead the discussion on our access, servicing and delivery strategy: a range of options for car and cycle parking locations, vehicle and pedestrian routes into and around the site, how these will have varying impact on our landscape strategy, whilst considering the relevant planning requirements and the market with rapidly increasing frequency of delivery trips. 

12:30PM: Head back to the office. Grab some lunch along the river and catch up with colleagues. Pick up PPE for an afternoon on site.

1:30PM: Meet with stakeholders at Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks for an on-site pre-app meeting. Join the discussion with Historic England on our strategy for retaining seven Listed gasholder structures and the process by which the structures are refurbished. Answer any questions the council may have on the quality of residential and commercial spaces to be provided on site and the locations of buildings.

3:30PM: Travel to King’s Cross Gasworks for a tour with the estate management team. Understand how the commercial spaces at ground floor level and residents’ facilities work within the gasholder frames and get a feel for the spaces in real life, rather than just on plan. Learn the dos and don’ts from a completed scheme.

5:00PM: Add to my RICS diary and fill out any recently completed CPD. Plan the last few months until my APC submission and ensure I am reaching my targets to make the deadline achievable.

Ruth - A Day in the Life of a Finance Graduate at Berkeley Group

8:00AM: Arrive at the office, chat to team, log in and check my emails.

8:45AM: Log onto the bank, see what money has come in and out, and post relevant purchase funds, including the reservation, exchange and completion funds to site and plots.

9:45AM: Run site debtors schedule, to show the sales status of each plot, and what funds we have allocated, indicating missing funds that we might need to chase solicitors.

10:40AM: Weekly finance meeting with team.

12:00PM: Update the accommodation schedule, which shows the latest updates on asking price, price achieved, sales status, finance number, purchaser name, and square footage, of each plot on each site.

1:00PM: Usually we go out as a team and have lunch in one of the number of pubs around the office.

2:00PM: Run the petty cash reconciliation and run the VAT returns to be sent to HMRC.

3:30PM: Report the fixed assets for the month and calculate and run the new depreciation for the month.

4:00PM: Send out the sales schedule reports, which I run weekly, which show the current sales status of plots, and compares the funds we have allocated against them, indicating plots at risk of rescinding, which plots are reserved but not exchanged, and where plots are exchanged but we haven’t received the full 10% of sales price.

5:00PM: Home time - often we will socialise for a couple of drinks before we get on the tube home.

Joshua - A Day in the Life of a Sales Graduate at Berkeley Group

9:00AM: Arrive on site and walk through the development, observing the area and making sure that there are clear signs to the marketing suite and that the area looks pristine, so potential clients can clearly find their way.

9:30AM: Once in the office I make sure that the TV’s are on, music is selected and playing and that our show apartments look great. I log onto my computer to review my emails and check for any new enquiries. 

10:00AM: Attend a meeting with the team, we discuss what we have lined up for the week, client’s interest and also new ideas to generate more sales. 

10:45AM: Viewings commence. Whether that be walk-ins or appointments; I will sit and qualify clients, show them the area and the show flats we have on offer. 

1:00PM: Attend a meeting with the marketing team to discuss new ideas to help generate sales and review what platforms people are using to view the development. We may also use this time to do some filming with marketing by going to the high street or surrounding areas to film the general lifestyle of the development.

3:00PM: Meet with clients and take them on a walk through the local area of the development. I find this is a great way to help influence potential buyers and show them the community they could be a part of.

6:00PM: Home time; some evenings we schedule in a social with the other departments and either have a meal, drink or a team building exercise. This is always a more social event and a great way to meet others that work for the company, from a sales manager to construction site operator, it’s just good to end the day with a laugh.