History and Information
Introduction
Following the success of three successive Protege schemes in 2007, 2008 and 2009, Protege is back with the launch of the much awaited Protege 2010 competition, once again supported by Building Magazine and the RICS.
This is your chance to kick-start your career with one of the top international property and construction consultants Rider Levett Bucknall. We were voted No 1 in The CRF's 'Britain's Top Employers 2009' list, are one of the Sunday Times 100 'Best Companies to Work For 2009' and are an Investors in People best practice case study, excellent credentials for those looking for a great employer to start their career with...
The competition aims to find the sharpest student talent in the country and the prize is to work for one of the industry's most dynamic firms, led by David Bucknall (chairman), plus a chance to visit one of our international offices on a short working holiday. (click here to read about some international travel experiences). Protege 2010 will put budding undergraduates through a series of technical and business tests in early February in order to see who most closely matches the needs of the business.
The judging panel for Protege 2010 will again be headed by David Bucknall, one of the founders of the firm. During his long career Bucknall has been at the forefront of his profession promoting quantity surveying and best practice across the industry. In previous years the panel has welcomed other leading industry figures including Sir Digby Jones (ex-CBI boss), Tony Hyde (Managing Director of Thomas Vale) and Denise Chevin (Editor of Building Magazine).
This year's competition has an added slant towards gaining competitive advantage in the UK's recovering market. The application questionnaire and assessment centres will focus on the different aspects of the recovering market and its effect on the UK based property and construction industry, and will explore applicants understanding of this ever changing market place.
To read about previous Protege competitions you can download the articles published in Building Magazine by clicking on the links below.
How the Competition will work
The competition will be open to both cognate and non-cognate undergraduates studying in their final year and to cognate students in their second year looking for a year out placement. The contest is open to students living in the UK and studying a degree at a UK based college or university.
During the application process via the dedicated Protege website you will be asked to undergo a short 'self- assessment' process. This is to see if you are eligible to enter the competition and if you have the right skills and experience to be a Protege. You will first undertake a short eligibility test, a couple of problem solving challenges and then a personality questionnaire. If you are successful you will move onto our competency based questionnaire which you will submit online for review by the recruitment team at RLB. We will then start our first screening process and a shortlist will be agreed for the successful applicants who will then start the comprehensive and rigorous assessment process. There will be a further remote test / telephone interview, followed by a live challenge day (in an assessment centre style format) that will see the candidates working on RLB business-related exercises set by us. The successful candidates will receive a job offer and those that accept will be eligible to proceed to the further stages of the Protege initiative and take part in a business challenge with David Bucknall.
To review how the competition will work in more detail please click here.
What we are looking for
Rider Levett Bucknall recruitment manager Stephen Reilly says the firm is looking to attract candidates with personality, enthusiasm and a sense of fun. Reilly says: "We are looking for more than just good academic qualifications. We are looking for well rounded people with ambition and good interpersonal skills. We are a client facing consultancy so our people have to be able to cultivate relationships as well as being technically excellent." Reilly added that the firm was keen to nurture "well rounded people wanting to develop their career with a professional construction consultancy"
The candidate will of course have to have a solid academic background, be good at problem solving and have a personality that matches the consultancy environment.
David Bucknall's Vision
David Bucknall, RLB's UK Chairman, explains why nurturing skills has been at the centre of his career in the last 40 years.
"The Protege Initiative is one of the most exciting and innovative programmes that I have seen in my career. This is our fourth year in promoting Protege and the results have far exceeded our expectations.
The combination of a large number of entrants together with the truly outstanding calibre of the finalists, year by year, has been truly remarkable.
The presence in our office of an increasing number of bright, talented and well motivated graduates aims to give us an edge over the competition. In addition, they add significantly to the vibrancy of each of our offices and get fully involved in our sports and social activities.
The long term commitment and our collective enthusiasm towards getting the best people into the profession is now gathering momentum and this whole Protege movement is taking on the role of an academy in a top sports club.
Our senior personnel are showing positive commitment to the role of mentor to our graduate entries which creates the momentum for giving great career progression within the Rider Levett Bucknall UK organisation.
The Protege initiative is core to the business and will remain ongoing. I look forward to meeting the finalists again this year because I know I will be once again be impressed by their calibre.”
About Rider Levett Bucknall
Rider Levett Bucknall provides its clients with property and construction consultancy advice at all stages of the property life cycle throughout the Americas, Asia, EMEA and Oceania, with over 2000 people operating from more than 80 offices. Our reputation for providing consistently high levels of consultancy services to our clients rests entirely on our ability to recruit and develop the highest calibre staff.
Cultivating relationships is at the heart of how we work, to ensure that we can understand our clients' needs and add real value to make a real difference.
We are always keen to hear from high calibre candidates and we strive to include people from as many backgrounds and cultures as possible. We need enthusiastic, organised, confident and inspired individuals; those who enjoy developing, communicating and sharing ideas and those who are dedicated to our clients, our mission and our projects.
In the UK we employ over 400 staff in seven offices in Birmingham, Bristol, London, Manchester, Sheffield, Thames Valley and Welwyn Garden City.
About our Graduate Programme
Apart from enjoying a job that is varied, stimulating and highly challenging - and being well paid for your skills - you'll have the opportunity to gain some valuable professional qualifications.
We want you to get professionally qualified (MRICS, MCIOB etc) as quickly and painlessly as possible. Our track record on first-time passes is exceptional. That's not a fluke, it's because we've spent time and money on a structured training programme which includes:-
Local and company induction - you'll be bombarded with people, information (don't worry we won't test you straight away) and of course coffee and biscuits (plus the occasional bacon sandwich!)
Formal training sessions - with internal and external experts, these are quite intense and can be both theoretical and practical. They'll help you to consolidate and improve your knowledge
Life long learning - you'll become a member of a local CPD organisation (e.g. University of Westminster and CPD foundation in London) and will be invited to various events.
Support - we have a team of experienced RICS (APC) and CIOB (PDP) supervisors, counsellors and assessors - they are all there to mentor your training.
About Building Magazine
We have teamed up with Building for the fourth year running which gives both our company and our graduates excellent exposure right from the start of their career (and sometimes before it has even started). Building is the leading professional magazine for professionals working in the construction industry and one of the UK's most respected business magazines. The magazine goes out to the most influential figures in the industry as well as a broad cross section of the sector, from architects through to engineers, consultants, contractors, house builders and developers. Both the magazine and its award-winning website go out to a combined audience of over 100,000 professionals. They are proud to back the Protege competition, which encourages up and coming talent to the industry.