Industry Focus – with Michael Brearey

Focus on… career steps with Quantity Surveyor, Chartered Environmentalist and CABE Fellow Michael Brearey FCABE CEnv 

Q. What is your current role and how long have you been in the position?

A. I’m the Group Head of Construction and Maintenance at Mount St John, which is a privately owned group of companies. It includes a private estate, and hospitality, farming, residential, equestrian and sporting businesses.

I am responsible for all things construction-related across the group, including: master planning, planning applications, tendering, quantity surveyor works, technical advice, contractual arrangements, project management and facilities management.

I also advise on projects and initiatives to save energy and money to make the businesses more efficient and effective.

Q. What route did you take to your current role?

A. I started working as a labourer in Leeds, working my way up to site manager, then procurement manager, and then contracts manager. I undertook a quantity surveying degree part-time at this point and was soon promoted to divisional contracts manager. 

After gaining further experience, I successfully applied to become a member of CABE. Subsequently, I became operations manager, simultaneously completing a degree in business and business studies whilst working full-time! I then became a Fellow of CABE and a Chartered Building Engineer. My next step was to the position of operations director, eventually becoming managing director.

I was then head-hunted to join a larger company based in Bradford which operated on a global scale; here, I was tasked with delivering projects in Europe, America and Australia, with a number of UK-based factories and one in China. I was able to bring new clients and revenue streams to this business whilst ensuring it was operating as efficiently as possible.

During my tenure in this role, I was extremely proud to be involved in a 3-year project as part of a global think tank aimed at fixing the social housing crisis. My contribution focused on the manufacture of a light gauge, steel-framed panelised housing system that would be made in our factories.  

Following this, I undertook becoming a Chartered Environmentalist with the Society for the Environment (SocEnv), continuously integrating other relevant training and CPD. I was then approached to join Mount St John, my current employer.

Q. Was this role a career aim for you from the outset?

A. Career progression has always been important to me. After holding a number of director-level positions, I was approached about my current role and due to a number of factors, including meeting the teams that I would be working with during the interview process, it was a very easy decision to make. The job is extremely rewarding and no two days are the same, which keeps it very interesting.

Q. Did/do you have a mentor?

A. I was very fortunate to be employed by someone early on in my career who saw something in me and invested his time into mentoring me. He assisted me with finding the correct training on both construction and business-related matters so that I could develop into the person I am today.

Because of this, I’ve had a positive attitude about mentoring instilled into me; I firmly believe in training and guiding not only the members of staff I’m working with, but also others across the industry.

I’m proactively involved with a number of associations and institutes, allowing me to volunteer and give back to the industry, which I get great satisfaction from. I am proud to be the Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber region of CABE, which has given me the opportunity to deliver talks in schools, colleges and universities, take part in industry events and even judge student dissertations and industry awards!

Q. Are there any other positions in the built environment sector that you would like to try one day?

A. My professional journey so far has allowed me to work on some amazing projects, buildings and locations, gaining a wealth of knowledge about listed buildings, new builds and the various different sectors that construction delivers work for.

I am proud to have been involved in some projects that have made a real difference to people’s lives, including various care homes, museums and art galleries, plus delivering a number of COVID-19 testing centres with very little notice!

My career path to date has provided me with a vast amount of job satisfaction and I am sure it will continue to do so.

Further guidance:

• The Society for the Environment is “the body responsible for championing and registering professionals with proven competence in their environmental work.” SocEnv licenses CABE, as a professional body, to award Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP), or as a Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech) to CABE Members who meet the awarding criteria. Such registrations are globally recognised, indicative of high standards of professionalism, and can offer you distinction within your field. Find out more by visiting cbuilde.com or socenv.org.uk
• As he mentions, Michael is a very active member of his CABE region; there are currently twelve regions across the UK and Ireland, providing members with access to a community of peers at a local level. To find your region and tap into that supportive network, visit cbuilde.com
• Michael has held a number of different posts over the course of his career but began as a labourer. For anyone considering a similar route, or looking into construction apprenticeships that will involve working on site, you may need to ensure you have a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card, or you could be refused entry to site. To begin researching how this might apply to you, take a look at cscs.uk.com