The path from A-Levels to construction project management

Posted on: 3 March, 2025

“I wanted to make sure I still felt immersed within a university and still felt completely part of something. UCEM is able to provide that – I feel completely supported.”

Name: Alice Taylor

Company: Ward Williams

Alice Taylor is in her third year of a BSc Construction Management course with UCEM. She is employed by Ward Williams in a degree apprenticeship. A high achiever at school, Alice was strongly encouraged by her school to take the ‘traditional route’ and apply for university through the UCAS system, but she “had an itch to start working”.

Her A-Levels ended abruptly in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Alice spent the next 2 years working within the COVID-19 testing programme. This gave Alice a taster of project management, as well as the space she needed to grow as a person and consider her aspirations for a longer-term career plan.

“I knew I wanted to be involved in the built environment, and I got some experience of project management through my work in COVID testing.” she said. “So I thought, well, I could try and put the two together, and that’s when I found Ward Williams.”

Researching UCEM

Even though UCEM was already the established provider of built environment apprenticeships for Alice’s new employer, “it was really important to be able to have trust in the university and that chosen provider.”

Alice explained that she “did a lot of research around UCEM” before she expressed her interest with Ward Williams, because she knew she “would have a big involvement with the university, not just the company.”

And what was it that Alice liked about UCEM when she researched it?

“The website was very informative. There were a lot of clips that showed other people who’ve been through an apprenticeship journey. I was looking at different people’s stories and insights, and I could see myself at the university.”

Alice was also keen on the concept of a virtual university and while she “got a good flavour of it” through the website, the reality has succeeded in living up to expectations:

“I wanted to make sure I still felt immersed within a university and still felt completely part of something. UCEM is able to provide that – I feel completely supported.

“The social aspect of school was quite challenging for me, and I found it quite overwhelming. So walking into a big university hall when I was completely new just felt like too big a step for me. Being able to ease into it virtually, still be involved and still be able to be in touch with people, but just in a softer way, felt right for me.

“But UCEM still makes sure that you feel involved and feel part of a community. Even though you’re over a screen, they still encourage you to keep in touch with people that you meet along the way. You don’t feel isolated.”

Mental wellbeing and support

UCEM’s support has extended beyond facilitating social interaction for Alice. As a high performer, she puts a lot of pressure on herself to succeed, and has realised during the course of her studies that she can become overwhelmed when trying to operate “at 110 percent” in every area of her life.

Alice expressed that “mental well-being is hugely important and the importance of it for young people can’t be underestimated. I can personally say how important it is to make sure you keep checking in with yourself.

“Last year, although I was really enjoying the apprenticeship and the prospects of my future career, I reached out to UCEM and my employer and said: ‘Look, I’m struggling, I’m finding this tough. I do not want to give up and I won’t, but my personal well-being is taking a bit of a toll right now and I need some help’.”

Alice credits both Ward Williams and UCEM with being “really, really supportive”. She got in touch with UCEM’s study support team, who put frequent one-to-ones in place to keep Alice on track and help her strike the right work-life balance. This is something Alice is “still working on every single day”, but she feels that she is “doing a lot better” with the right support in place.

“I would say to anybody who’s starting out their journey, it’s hard and there will challenges that may take a toll on your mental wellbeing. But don’t be afraid to put your hand up and say, ‘I need some help’. There’s no weakness in that. I think it’s actually more of a strength.”

Projects in Plymouth

Alice is from Plymouth, where the first seeds of her interest in the built environment were sown:

“Seeing buildings around me emerge from just a greenfield or a brownfield site all the way to a completed building, I found incredibly inspiring.”

Alice has a particular ambition to get involved with regeneration projects in her local area:

“There are some more deprived areas of Plymouth that I think could do with some regeneration. It’s inspiring to look around those areas and think that I could one day be part of something that benefits the local community.

“I’ve seen stories of local construction companies who’ve succeeded in transforming these areas and making them less deprived and more beneficial for the community. I am already getting some opportunities to be part of this, and it is an amazing feeling and I’m looking forward to continuing to build these legacies for future generations.”

Looking further into the future, Alice also recognises the longer-term impact that such projects can have:

“When I was able to research local projects that champion sustainability, I thought how proud I would feel to be part of something like that and be able to build that legacy from such a young age. In the future when I hope to have a family, I’d love to be able to drive them around and show them what I helped build for the community.”