Fiona Ayre, cost manager at Canary Wharf Group, tells us about her job, career and what brought her to working in construction.
Please tell us a little about yourself and your current role.
I’m a cost manager with Canary Wharf Contractors, part of Canary Wharf Group, working on Canary Wharf’s new district Wood Wharf. My role involves the cost control element of construction of both commercial and residential buildings, including 10 Park Drive, which is the first residential building to be constructed on the Estate. I moved to London from Northumberland to work for a developer as a graduate and then assistant quantity surveyor, so the bulk of my experience is in high-rise residential construction, which has been great given the numerous residential projects we have on the go at Canary Wharf.
What does your role involve?
Day-to-day can range from procurement of subcontract works for a new project, to management of budgetary variations on under construction buildings. Once a month, alongside the construction and project managers, I’ll review the site progress of each contractor I look after. This can involve site walks to review progress and assessment of contractor design works being progressed.
How did you start your career and what inspired you to get into property?
My stepfather was a surveyor and suggested that as I excelled at maths at school and enjoyed my work experience within his business, quantity surveying might be a good mix of a practical industry like construction and a quantifiable subject like maths. As such I went on to undertake a foundation degree in quantity surveying followed by a full degree in quantity surveying.
What part of your job do you find most exciting and satisfying, and which parts are the most challenging?
The most exciting part is a difficult question! It’s a toss-up between the start of a new project, starting a fresh build and looking at something new and exciting often with a new team. Also, the end of a project where you get to see all the hard work come to fruition, the project being handed over and enjoyed by its occupants.
Are there any current or previous projects where you are especially proud of your input?
Every project has presented different challenges which has for me meant I’m proud of all of them. The majority of my experience has been on residential regeneration schemes so it is always great to be able to go back to an area once the work is complete and be able to see how much people are enjoying living there and know I was a part of bringing that to life.
Have there been mentors and inspiring people during your career?
I’ve had the privilege of working in some great teams and learning first-hand how much that counts towards the success of a project. As graduate and assistant, I had a fantastic manager who really pulled together the reality of the job with the scholarly aspect I’d learnt at university. I’d always thought of mentoring as a bit cheesy, but it has helped me enormously to stay focused on the bigger picture. Now I think it’s really important to seek out and work with those inspiring people to stay both challenged and reassured in my career choice.
The construction industry has a reputation for being quite male dominated. What more do you think could be done to encourage women into the industry?
I think this is a legacy issue for the construction industry and whilst the efforts the industry is going to now is a great start, we can’t expect it to be resolved overnight. The industry needs to keep on with these efforts, but I think the key is to get construction careers presented realistically at career fairs and within schools. At school I was offered the textbook career paths of doctor, dentist, lawyer and teacher. (I actually remember being told that doing a foundation degree in quantity surveying was beneath me!) Fortunately, this attitude seems to have faded a lot but we need to get the message out to girls and young women that construction has such a wide variety of careers, and that if you’re interested and keen it’s a really rewarding industry to work in.
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
I finished university during the recession and graduate jobs were few and far between, particularly in Northumberland, so for a couple years I shelved the idea of being a quantity surveyor. During that time, I was a bit harsh on myself about having studied for four years only to carry on with my job in a bar! However, I came to realise when I started as graduate quantity surveyor that I hadn’t wasted that time at all. I’d just been working on a whole host of soft skills that aren’t taught in university but that are so useful in any career. So, I’d tell my younger self to have a bit of patience and trust that things will all come together, a setback isn’t necessarily the end!
