If you are looking for career within construction management, a career as a site clerk is often a valuable first step. A site clerk assists construction management staff in terms of the administrative tasks that are needed to keep the project working smoothly. Let’s have a look at what a career as a site clerk actually involves and how your career can develop.
Working as a Site Clerk
A site clerk supports all elements of the site through technology, organisational skills and the preparation of site documentation. Generally speaking, your responsibilities in your career as a site clerk would include:
- Assisting the foreperson and site manager with day to day activities
- Helping the documents controller and health & safety personnel with their work
- Organising and maintaining documents in a structured fashion
- Working with purchasing to order materials and with logistics to deliver them
- Maintain company documents and procedures for easy access, reference and use
- Assisting in upholding the corporate structures of the company within the workplace
- Being computer literate with advanced knowledge of widely used software packages and having the ability to learn any new technology swiftly.
Career Path
As a site clerk you will often be the first point of interface for many visitors to the site office so being able to communicate well and provide a good first impression is important. Some of those you will work with regularly include:
- Quantity surveyor
- Site manager
- Architect
- Foreperson
- Estimator
- CAD technician
- Purchaser
- Civil engineer
- Structural engineer
- Civil engineer
- Building services engineer
- Mechanical engineer
- Contracts controller
- QA/QC engineer
- Documents controller
- Project engineer
- Finance manager
- Health and Safety
Some administrative experience in a construction environment would be useful, as would some knowledge of construction and engineering processes and principles. Many employers prefer site-clerks to come from a third-level background such as business, economics or information technology. Your career as a site-clerk will vary from company to company depending on scale and project so you must be prepared to upskill where necessary, with CPD in terms of new software or industry procedures particularly relevant.
How your Career can Develop
In your career as a site clerk, you fulfill a vital function in the overall management and administration of any construction or civil engineering task. There is plenty of scope for professional development, graduating to larger, more complex projects and gaining a deeper understanding of different companies and construction methods. Some site clerks can make the transition into construction management positions when they have obtained the necessary experience and certifications.