From Placement to Graduate – Luke Taylor’s Journey

Congratulations to Luke Taylor, who recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a First-Class Honours in Quantity Surveying! As part of Luke’s course, he a spent a year at calfordseaden on a work placement before returning to Portsmouth to complete the final year of his course. We hear from Luke as he discusses his dissertation and the inspiration behind it, his experience at the Practice, and his ambitions for the future.

Dissertation Project

Luke’s dissertation explored the current context of the housing situation in London, focusing on the buy-to-leave phenomenon, as he aimed to highlight a topic that he believes does not get spoken about enough. “My research project was titled The Social Impacts of the Buy-to-Leave phenomenon in prime London areas: An investigation into potential solutions. I believe that for an issue as severe as this, it does not receive that much attention in the industry. In my opinion, a lot of homeowners now see homes as an investment, rather than prioritising people living in them.”

Part of Luke’s inspiration for choosing this topic came from literature that explored a similar subject. “I read Anna Minton’s book Big Capital: Who is London For? which I found extremely interesting and thought-provoking. Although it was published in 2017, the issues and consequences it raises remain just as relevant today.”

In terms of methodology, Luke designed a questionnaire to understand the perceptions of buyer activity over the past decade, with a focus on certain intervals during that timeframe. “I explored areas in which buy-to-leave activity was prominent, and using the responses I received along with secondary data, I discovered an undeniable link between the number of vacant properties alongside with the rate of business closures. I found that it is impacting local economic activity, which is a cause for concern.”

“Since conducting my research, my lecturers have approached me recommending that I go further with my research, and it is something I want to continue to monitor. The topic is a current issue and is slowly starting to receive a lot of interest.”

Dominic Fox Memorial Prize

Throughout his first two years at university, Luke was averaging a 2:2. He went on to achieve a First, and in recognition of his dedication and success, was awarded the Dominic Fox Memorial Prize. “Dominic was the Head of the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying between 2004 and 2017 but sadly passed in 2018. I’m honoured to be a part of remembering him through the award.”

Placement Year and Re-joining calfordseaden

As previously mentioned, Luke chose to spend his placement year at the Practice, where he worked alongside numerous industry professionals and developed his understanding of being a Quantity Surveyor. “I came across the opportunity through a family member of mine knowing someone at calfordseaden. I was due to do some work experience at the Practice in 2019, however this was unfortunately cancelled because of the pandemic. Thankfully, the opportunity was still there for me in 2023 when I needed to undertake a placement year.

During my year in industry, I gained valuable hands-on experience conducting valuations, assisting with admin tasks, cost benchmarking, helping produce industry cost data, and conducting elemental analysis. I worked closely with Adam Reeve and Jack Diggle, both of which helped me significantly, as well as the rest of the team. Spending a year with industry professionals was a great experience and helped me going into my third and final year in my studies. My year at calfordseaden developed my confidence significantly, which reduced a lot of stress going into my final year. It provided me with motivation as well to try and achieve the best grade possible.”

Now returning as a Graduate Quantity Surveyor, Luke will help bring exciting projects to life by assisting colleagues with overseeing handover processes, conduct site visits and valuations, conducting BCIS elemental analysis, and undertaking cost planning.

Recommendations, Advice, and Goals

“If you are a university student looking to get into the construction industry, I would thoroughly recommend completing a year in industry during your course. Classmates of mine who also undertook a placement year all received job offers from the same company. I believe it creates fantastic career opportunities and provides you with amazing experiences.

Looking ahead, I can’t wait to progress my skills further at calfordseaden, and in the long-term I’m aiming to sit my APC and become a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, utilising the APC support programme available here.”