Pasqualina Puglisi is definitely beating the stigma of construction being a man’s world. I’m so happy that Pasq agreed to to do an interview with NC Real Estate. Pasq is definitely one of the most excited, energetic and passionate young surveyors out there (and I also love calling her my friend!). Read on to find out how Pasq got into Mace (her current company), how she copes with the APC process and what made her want to get into the industry in the first place. Honestly if you want to get into the industry, especially the construction side, and don’t know if it’s right for you, then this is an interview you should definitely read.
Hi Pasq
Thanks for agreeing to do an interview with me for the NC Real Estate blog.
It’s always great to see you! As of our pizza get together the other night it seems that life is carrying you in the right direction right now, you were positively glowing I love it!
What made y
ou want to get into property?
I have to put it down to my parents. Even though they have never worked in the industry they have always renovated their properties, our homes, so unknowingly I have always been exposed to it. Going to university in East London, whilst the Olympic Park was being built, also reinforced my love for architecture, development and regeneration.
Did you do a property related degree?
Eventually! I started out doing an engineering degree in Material Science with a dental route because I wanted to be a dentist. Half way through I met Cushman and Wakefield at a careers fair who told me about their graduate programme and how they would train me to be a surveyor in 2 years. That was the spark. I didn’t like the idea of another 5 years of full time education and £10k a year fees, so I made enquiries about the different types of programmes and came across the postgraduate diploma offered by CEM/Reading (now University College of Estate Management.) The course accepted any graduate holding a 2:1 who could evidence that they would be exposed to a minimum of 5 hours relevant experience a week. I had to intern for free at first but being a distance learning course I was able to move home and work when opportunities became available. It also meant no debts at the end!
Construction is not seen as the most glamourous of jobs, what do you love about it and how did you get involved?
I love the idea of taking something that is broken, run down or no longer fit for purpose and realising its potential by building something new, or even refurbishing it back to its former glory. I currently work in consultancy managing free school builds and what I love most is seeing the look on teachers’ faces, and pupils’ excitement, when they get to see their new school coming out of the ground. It’s just bricks and mortar right? To them it’s their future and endless possibilities.
I got involved in surveying through a mentor who introduced me to the RICS Matrics. It’s a RICS promoted support network for students and anyone less than 10 years qualified as a chartered surveyor. It enables people, like myself, who may not know many people in the industry, create lasting connections to help cement your career and open you up to a wide range of opportunities through CPD, social events and much more.
How can the industry go about beating the stigma of construction being a man’s world?
I think this is already happening in construction, companies now more than ever are really pushing the diversity and equality agenda. They really are beating the stigma of construction being a man’s world. The RICS saw its first woman President inaugurated in 2014 and the movement for change has been growing ever since. The take up and buy in from the biggest firms has been a real catalyst and increasingly women are beating the stigma themselves by just going for it! What we need to do now is make the career path more direct by filtering the message through from an earlier age and encouraging work placements and apprentices.
At Mace about 40% of our graduates are female and we have a programme for high potential women in the business – Women of the Future – to support their personal development. Construction isn’t something you simply learn from a book, experience and skill is in short supply and that’s what will set you apart from the rest, regardless of gender.
What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
I worked on a challenging school project where we were working to an extremely tight timeframe. Where would these kids go come September? It was a whirlwind but thanks to a dedicated team, who worked relentlessly to get the project over the line, the pupils were able to move into their new school from day one, much to their excitement. What made it even better was the sheer achievement and gratitude from the school. It’s a project I am really proud of… not bad for my first one!
How is the APC process going?
NOTE: APC is Assessment of Professional Competence, the process you go through to become a chartered surveyor
I’m just about through my first year and I am pleased to say it’s going really well. It can be hard to self-motivate at times but when I think about what I have achieved so far I think to myself “Don’t waste any more time, get on with it.” I find that setting myself a target for what I want to achieve once I am chartered helps give me that extra push to stay focused on the task in hand.
Have Mace been helpful in preparing you for your APC? What support do they offer?
Yes, Mace signed me up as soon as I joined the graduate programme. I chose a great supervisor who is really helpful and through my own determination I am making good progress with getting competencies signed off. There are plenty of people within my organisation that I can talk to and ask for advice as well as other graduates who are in the same position as me. Mace even have a mentoring scheme made up of people throughout the business that we can engage with for additional support and insight. For my particular pathway some of the senior colleagues host sessions where we present to our peers and discuss competency topics to prepare us for the final assessment. They also hold mock interviews.
I know how tough it can be studying for your APC and working full time. How do you manage both? What does your typical day look like?
I have made a conscious effort to allocate a few hours each week in my diary to APC work, which is supported by my line management. We all know how hard it is to get through a working day and then have to try and revise at the end. It’s not productive. Typically I find my office is quieter early on a Monday morning or on Friday afternoons so, as long as I don’t have any impending project tasks, I take advantage of the quiet and top up my log book. When my projects are in full swing I can be out on site every week so it’s important that I allocate time to keeping up with emails too. Sometimes I am just too busy during the week so rather than stay late I often find it useful to come into the office for a few hours on the weekend to get the most out of my revision time – the office is less distracting than home! I leave my laptop at work to make sure I have a clear work life separation.
What has been your proudest moment in your career to date?
Receiving my job offer from Mace was the defining moment where I realised I had succeeded in what I set out to achieve back in 2010, when I chose to change my career path. It was my first foot in the door of the construction industry and ever since I started the level of positive feedback I have had from clients and colleagues has reinforced the fact that I made the right decision back then. I love my work, the city and the people I get to meet as a result.
What do you think the biggest challenge within the industry is at the moment?
I think the skills gap is a huge problem and more needs to be done to encourage people of all ages into trades and engineering disciplines.
Are there any changes you would want to see being introduced into the industry?
I’d like to see more focus on health and wellbeing. Not just on site but in offices too. I believe if companies invest in their employees more, they will be healthier, happier and ultimately perform better.
This is an area we’re doing more on at Mace – this November, for example, everyone’s being encouraged to be more active and raise money for the men’s health charity, Movember, at the same time.
What would be your advice to anyone looking to be a surveyor, how would they start and what should they do?
Start asking questions. Get yourself out there. Join your regional Matrics group. There are so many avenues to source information now that the more you enquire about, the better informed you will be to make a decision. If you have a particular sector in mind, focus on it but never turn down an opportunity, you never know where it might lead. Most importantly, be enthusiastic. If you have a genuine interest for the industry people will recognise this.
What are you looking forward to achieving in your career?
I am looking forward to achieving membership of the RICS! I have committed to myself that if I pass I will start my development aspirations and begin the search for my first plot of land. I look forward to delivering my first ever scheme and hopefully making some profit so that I can move onto the next one!
Thank you so much for coming over and joining in with the interviews on the NC Real Estate blog!
Thank you for having me!
If my readers want to get in contact with you what’s the best way for them to do that?
They can drop me an email at any time, Pasqualina.puglisi@macegroup.com
Have you been inspired by reading this amazing interview? Does it make you want to get into construction? I really hope so and Pasq and I would love to hear your comments, so do post below! Don’t forget to like this and share it around, because it might make someone else thing, yes the property industry is definitely for me.
Also, if you want to come along to a RICS Matrics meeting with us then drop me an email natasha@ncrealestate.co.uk and we will get you involved!
NC
P.S If you liked this interview why not check out last weeks with Simon Trigg – my interview series are definitely ones not to miss if you want to get into the industry!
