On a construction site!

Have you ever worked on a construction site? If yes, what did you do? What were your responsibilities? If not, what can students usually do during their practical work on the construction site?

I worked as a…

… plasterer/ bricklayer/ (house)painter/ carpenter/ paper- hanger / general worker/ loader, etc.

I dealt with…

… putting (pipes, bricks, windows and doors…) in place

I was involved into ...

… digging (trenches, …)

I was responsible for…

… assembling (wooden frames, …)

What equipment did you use or see on the construction site?

Look at the photos. Which photo shows…?

a. truck-mounted caterpillar front-end loader

b. utility conduits

c. drainage piping

d. a backhoe

e. a power saw

f. a hammer

g. a construction site

h. a truck

You are going to read an extract from the novel "The Stars Shine Down" written by the world's master storyteller Sidney Sheldon. Lara, the main character of this book, deals with real estate investment. In this extract she is watching her first building being constructed.

Exercise 2a. Read the extract and choose the best answer to the following questions (find proofs in the text).

1. What is Lara's occupation?

a) a builder

b) a contractor

c) a building owner

d) an architect

2. How would you describe Lara's emotional state? Why?

a) indifferent

b) excited

c) bored

d) enthusiastic

"Watching the new building going up was the most exciting thing Lara had ever experienced. She was there every day. "I want to learn", she told Charles Cohn. "This is just the beginning for me. I'm going to put up a hundred buildings."

Cohn wondered whether Lara really knew what she was getting into.

The first men to set foot on the project site were members of the survey team. They established the legal geometric borders of the property and drove hubs into the ground at each corner, every hub painted with a fluorescent color for easy identification. The survey work was finished in two days, and early the following morning, heavy earthmoving equipment – truck-mounted Caterpillar front-end loader – arrived at the site.

Lara was there, waiting. "What happens now?" she asked Buzz Steele.

"We clear and grub."

Lara looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"The caterpillar is going to dig up tree stumps and do some rough grading."

The next piece of equipment that came in was a backhoe to dig the trenches for its foundations, utility conduits, and drainage piping.

By now the boarders at the house had all heard what was happening, and it became the main topic of conversation at breakfast and supper. They were all cheering for Lara.

"What happens next?" they would ask.

She was becoming an expert. "This morning they put the underground piping in place. Tomorrow they start to put in the wood and concrete formwork, so they can wire-tie the steel bars into the skeletal gridiron." She grinned. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Pouring the concrete was the next step, and when the concrete foundation was cured, large truckloads of lumber rolled in, and crews of carpenters began to assemble the wooden frames. The noise was horrendous, but to Lara it was music. The place was filled with the sounds of rhythmic hammers and whining power saws. After two weeks the wall panels, punctuated with window and door openings, were stood upright as if the building had suddenly been inflated.

To passerby, the building was a maze of wood and steel, but to Lara it was something else. It was her dream come to life. Every morning and every evening she went downtown and stared at what was being built. I own this, Lara thought. This belongs to me.

Build a great career!

PAs in the construction industry may find it a bit rough and ready sometimes, but it's also highly rewarding, says Susan Pape.

It's rough, it's tough and it's no place for a woman. Or that's the traditional view of the building industry – populated, as we all suppose, by large men. But is the stereotypical image a realistic one?

Construction is one of the largest industries in the UK, worth some ₤ 60 billion and employing just over million people. But women account for just 9 per cent of the workforce – with the majority of those working in secretarial positions – and that is a position the industry is looking to improve.

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The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is running a campaign to attract more young women into the industry by highlighting the various careers available. And building companies are now echoing the call. Jeff Fryer, managing director of construction company M&M Plasline, based at Bishop Auckland, believes that the industry is working to raise its professional profile, reputation and standards, and that more women will want to join. "The industry is not seen as particularly attractive to females. But in my view, women have a lot to offer," he says.

"They are very good at organization and structure – and while not all of them might want to become plasterers and brickies, there are jobs at the coal face that they would be very good at, particularly in administration and management."

I

Melanie Box says the work is interesting, varied – and fun. She is an admin assistant in the plastering division at M&M Plasline. "Most of my time is spent on admin, typing and filing."

She deals with site constructors but tries to keep them at her door. "Otherwise they come in and leave dust everywhere," she says. "They are supposed to put plastic overshoes on because their feet are filthy."

She also has a swear box in the office and charges 20p for every inadvertent slip. "The lads are so used to working in groups outside that they forget to mind their language."

II

Sue Hubbard's office is a temporary building on the site where the multi-million pound Braunstone Leisure Center is being built in Leicester.

She is a receptionist for Willmont Dixon, the construction firm. "I see a lot of the builders," she says. "They come into the office – and they are very friendly. Some forget themselves and swear but I can take it.

Sue's job involves answering phones, sending faxes, sorting the mail and dealing with visitors. "The office is right on the edge of the building site so there's always a lot going on – and a lot of noise in the background," she says. "I come to work in normal office clothes because I don't have to go on site that often. And I'm not that keen. I haven't got a head for heights so there is no way I'm going up one of their ladders."

III

PA Katie Maltby can't wait to go on site visits and keeps her safety boots, high visibility jacket and helmet at the ready. Much of Katie's role involves dealing with suppliers, and joinery and plumbing sub contractors.

"I love going out on site, especially when we're fitting out a store from scratch, because you get to see the job from start to finish, which is very rewarding," she says.

It means she is on first name terms with many of the builders, joiners, electricians and plumbers she works with. "They are a great bunch," she says. "I was worried at first because I had the usual image of a builder – and while they are very down to earth they do try to watch their language and behave when I'm about. They're actually nice people and great fun."

For details of careers in construction, contact the CITB website: www.bconstructive.co.uk

Exercise 4. Give your partners an oral summary of tour extract using your notes from the table.