We are pleased to tell you about our client Bernice who has been working for London Square for a year now.

Hello, I’m Bernice and I’m a Project Administrator at London Square, Bermondsey.

What do you do?

I am a Project Administrator working on London Square’s mixed development scheme in Bermondsey.

There’s an administrative and IT element to my responsibilities as a considerable part of my role is about keeping track of data relating to people working onsite for reporting and monitoring purposes. I love my job because every day is different, you’re always learning something new and you’re always working with new and interesting people.

What characteristics do you need to be successful in your job?

Technically, you need a good understanding of IT software, particularly Excel. You also need to be a fairly organised, well-planned person.

You need to be quite a calm person, somebody who doesn’t easily get upset or ruffled. Apart from the planning and organisational skills, I think there’s a lot of ‘soft’ skills involved; this is the aspect of the work that a lot of people overlook.

It’s about working with the people on your team and the project manager to make that happen. That’s a lot to do with understanding people dynamics, understanding how things work.

What are your ambitions?

My ambition is to go on being interested in the work that I do, to go on learning new things, to meet new and interesting people and to go home every day feeling that I’ve achieved something. The career progression here is through working on bigger and more complex projects involving more people.

What is your background?

Like a lot of people, I came to be in this job more by a series of evolutionary steps rather than a conscious career decision.

I had worked as a salon manager and receptionist for over thirty years and decided to change careers just before the pandemic. I was at a loss for what to do next, so I enrolled in a computing and business administration course at Lewisham College to learn new skills and update my knowledge.

I have always been interested in building design so living in Southwark I have seen the transformation of skylines and landscapes within my own neighbourhood. I had walked past London Square’s development on many occasions, but I never would have imagined that I would end up working here.

The opportunity came about after I attended a local job fair at Southwark Works and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have started expanding my role, taking on more responsibilities and really enjoy working for London Square.

What advice would you give to someone interested in your career?

I would say that if, having heard a bit more about the job, it fits your skills and interests, then go for it. Find out how you can get trained, how you can start working on construction projects and who you can learn from.

If you need support finding employment, please get in touch with us, we’d love to help!

You can call us on 020 7740 8200 or email us info@southwarkworks.org.uk