Life at Guildford College

Chloe Swain completed her HNC Construction and the Built Environment at Guildford College in 2023. She now works as an architectural technician at Bloor Homes.

“I was in the first cohort of learners after COVID-19, so it was an uncertain time for us, but I did enjoy the course,” Chloe said.

“I made quite a few friends that I’m still in contact with now and we all help each other out because we’re all in the same industry. Overall, it was a good course, and it has helped me grow within my business and get to where I am now.”

“Because it was a higher education course, there was a really interesting mix of people with different backgrounds and experiences, and we learnt a lot from each other,” Chloe added.

“I loved being able to share my knowledge with course mates that were in earlier stages of their careers and learning from those more experienced than me.”

Proudest achievement

Chloe was most proud of achieving a distinction in two modules of her HNC.

“I was so pleased that I managed to get a distinction in both the planning law and construction law modules, as this was an area that I found quite challenging initially,” Chloe said.

“I use what I learnt from those modules all the time in my current role, so it’s really helped me get to where I am now and is a great thing to show to future employers as well.”

Life after college

“As an architectural technician, I’m basically a mixture of a project manager and an architectural technologist,” Chloe said.

“An architectural technician oversees the project from planning all the way to completion.

“So, I’ll get involved with what goes on the site, how many bedrooms, which materials we use, even going on site and helping engineers with foundations as well.

“I also get involved with sales and hand over private plots to occupiers and shared or rented plots to housing associations.

“Every day is different, and it’s great because you get such an interesting range of experience, which is really valuable if you ever decide to try out a different area of the industry.”

What inspires you?

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Chloe said that trying to make the working environment more welcoming to women is one of the things that inspires her to do what she does.

“In my team of 12 people, two of us are women, and this is a trend that you can see across the other teams in my organisation, and in the construction industry as a whole,” Chloe said.

“I’ve spoken to many of my female colleagues about this and we’ve all found it quite hard at times, being a woman in this industry, as when people think of construction, they imagine a group of men on site.

“There is still a stigma, but we’re really trying to push for more women in construction jobs and to be on site as well, not just in the office. It’s important to show young women that they can be a bricklayer, a labourer, an electrician, they can be anything they want to be.

“We have noticed that having a more diverse team is making us more approachable and relatable to our customers and has created a better work environment for us. Having different perspectives makes our team work better,” Chloe added.

Advice for college leavers

Chloe had some words of wisdom to share with college leavers on kickstarting their careers.

“My advice would be to create a CV to outline your skills and qualifications and show that you are enthusiastic, passionate and willing to learn.

“Believe that you can achieve anything and don’t doubt yourself. You never know what kind of opportunities might come up and who is looking for someone, so keep an open mind and make the most of opportunities that come your way.”