Graduate Usama Bandarkar has secured a job as a quantity surveyor working on UCLan's £200 million Masterplan in Preston.

The current project will see the creation of a £60 million Student Centre and new Civic Square due for completion in early 2021.  

Usama, 21, who lives in Blackburn, is working for highways contractor Balfour Beatty, said: “I used to watch the work on the Masterplan when it started and thought wouldn’t it be great if I worked on it one day. Now I’ve got the job just down the road from where I studied.

“I’m really enjoying the job, I’m learning something new every day. 

"I spend time in the office and I make a point of visiting site daily, I am part of the surveying team and shadow senior colleagues to constantly develop in my new career. I also take a photographic record of progress to make sure everything is following the plan and share it with the project team.”

Graeme Moffat, Balfour Beatty Operations Manager, said: “At Balfour Beatty, we are committed to supporting the local economy by employing local people with more than 92per cent of our University of Central Lancashire’s Masterplan workforce employed from within a 40-mile radius.

“As members of The 5% Club, we believe it is critically important to provide young people looking for a career in construction with experience working on major developments to ensure they become equipped with the industry skills needed to excel in the future.”

Work on UCLan’s Masterplan continues to progress, with improvements to the highways around the Adelphi Quarter being carried out by Balfour Beatty, while ground preparation for the Student Centre and Civic Square is taking place through contractor Bowmer + Kirkland.  

The University’s Masterplan development has so far seen the completion of two new social space facilities at a cost of over £8 million, the £35 Million Engineering Innovation Centre as well as Oasis, the new multi-faith centre.