Pursuing a career we enjoy is never easy. One thing is for sure: the sooner you find it, the greater satisfaction you will enjoy. A passion for career is a light guiding fresh graduates towards a bright future. Thomas Cheung Yuen-san, graduate of Higher Diploma in Surveying, is one example who found his career passion and landed his dream job as an assistant quantity surveyor in Gammon Construction.

Just like other IVE Engineering final year students, Thomas was attached in industry during his last semester where he could obtain valuable practical experience in a real workplace before graduation. Thomas said, “Although our lecturers always shared their industry experiences with us, I knew I was pretty green and was standing at a starting point.” Learning out of textbooks is always the best way to enrich and consolidate knowledge, not to mention learning from the professional who can help us sharpening our skills. He pointed out, "There were situations we could not experience at school. For example, during my internship in Gammon Construction, I worked on two projects at the same time. I needed to handle a number of tasks and prioritize them appropriately. It really tested my time management and multi-tasking skills."

Unlike civil engineers, quantity surveying professionals mainly focus on the construction project management, such as contracts, budgets and claims procedures, involving many stakeholders in one project. Thomas said, “In my work, I need to communicate and work with different people, including engineers, foremen, contractors and claims department, hence, communication skills are very important. Being detail minded is also crucial for quantity surveyor as we have to check contracts terms and estimate budgets for projects with huge investment.”

Industry always welcomes young men with enthusiasm in work. Simon Yeung Ping-kong, senior quantity surveyor of Gammon Construction said, "We are really glad and honour to have a young talent like Thomas, who is smart, willing to learn and always delivers a positive attitude. The most important thing is that we saw his passion for his job, even though it was just a few months internship." Mr. Yeung has been Thomas's supervisor since the first day they met, and unbelievably, up to now. With his outstanding performance during internship, Thomas was hired as a permanent staff by Gammon Construction upon graduation. "Utilize your full potentials and open your mind to learn more” He concluded a tips for the fellow who will join the attachment programme very soon.

Gammon Construction is engaged in a number of significant construction projects, including Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link – Southern Connection Viaduct Section and Midfield Concourse. “We always look for young talents who possess particular good qualities, such as problem solving skills, communication skills, teamwork, interpersonal skills and hands-on experiences. Assistant engineers, assistant building engineers & assistant building services engineers are all in top demands for our civil, building, foundations & E&M projects.” said Edmond Lai Wing-kok, Human Resources Director of Gammon Construction. Actually, the attachment programme is not just beneficial to the students, it is also a good way for employers to look for potential employees who are particularly equipped with certain extent of industrial knowledge.

Nowadays, lifelong learning is essential to keep us update with the latest development trend of every industry. Thomas is currently pursuing a part time degree course and will graduate next year. He also plans to equip himself for the professional assessments, striving towards his goal to be a chartered quantity surveyor. Step by step, his enthusiasm in engineering will surely guide him to success in the future.