Moving from main contracting to subcontracting. (Construction)
Discussion
The Beaver King said:
For clarification, are you talking about moving from a Main Contractor (i.e. Lend Lease, Mace etc) to a sub-contractor (i.e. IES, Dodd Group etc) or do you mean moving into sub-contracting yourself?
Yes, moving from say a mace to a sub contract groundworks companyCheers
The Count said:
Well lube up and get ready to be the one being shafted for a change 
and suck up the 60+ days payment terms, the everlasting retention chase.
In all honesty though, i hope you get on ok
thank you. and suck up the 60+ days payment terms, the everlasting retention chase.
In all honesty though, i hope you get on ok
just a potential opportunity at this point. was really interested in anyone that may have made a similar jump and how they found it...
I moved (well after redundancy) from main contractor in construction to a small groundworks contractor then onto a demolition contractor. There are quite a lot of the same crap goes on at whatever end of the contract your on.
Instead of working on 1 big project and looking after lots of differents trades, you suddenly look after 1 trade on lots of different projects.
you will become a lot more knowledgable in that specific trade, where as at a main contractor you have a decent overview of most things and rely of the individual sub contractors for the specific skills.
generally dropping down to a smaller company can give greater prospects, more chance of promotions, directorship etc.... but with this come more responsibility and pressure. are you happy being part of a much bigger machine where every has their own role, because suddenly you can find yourself in a company ordering your own materials for projects, stationary, dealing with the photocopier guy coming to fix a broken machine, taking stuff in a van to guys on-site, chasing payments, making payments, having guys moan about short wages, holiday getting no pay because of weather stopping work....
theres no right or wrong answer i could sit a talk about the stupid things you have to deal with at a smaller sub contractor, but i think you'll get what i'm meaning.
Instead of working on 1 big project and looking after lots of differents trades, you suddenly look after 1 trade on lots of different projects.
you will become a lot more knowledgable in that specific trade, where as at a main contractor you have a decent overview of most things and rely of the individual sub contractors for the specific skills.
generally dropping down to a smaller company can give greater prospects, more chance of promotions, directorship etc.... but with this come more responsibility and pressure. are you happy being part of a much bigger machine where every has their own role, because suddenly you can find yourself in a company ordering your own materials for projects, stationary, dealing with the photocopier guy coming to fix a broken machine, taking stuff in a van to guys on-site, chasing payments, making payments, having guys moan about short wages, holiday getting no pay because of weather stopping work....
theres no right or wrong answer i could sit a talk about the stupid things you have to deal with at a smaller sub contractor, but i think you'll get what i'm meaning.
malks222 said:
I moved (well after redundancy) from main contractor in construction to a small groundworks contractor then onto a demolition contractor. There are quite a lot of the same crap goes on at whatever end of the contract your on.
Instead of working on 1 big project and looking after lots of differents trades, you suddenly look after 1 trade on lots of different projects.
you will become a lot more knowledgable in that specific trade, where as at a main contractor you have a decent overview of most things and rely of the individual sub contractors for the specific skills.
generally dropping down to a smaller company can give greater prospects, more chance of promotions, directorship etc.... but with this come more responsibility and pressure. are you happy being part of a much bigger machine where every has their own role, because suddenly you can find yourself in a company ordering your own materials for projects, stationary, dealing with the photocopier guy coming to fix a broken machine, taking stuff in a van to guys on-site, chasing payments, making payments, having guys moan about short wages, holiday getting no pay because of weather stopping work....
theres no right or wrong answer i could sit a talk about the stupid things you have to deal with at a smaller sub contractor, but i think you'll get what i'm meaning.
Pretty much the same as malks222 I was made redundant from Taylor Woodrow some 15 years ago and after a year with a smaller contractor was approached by a sub-contractor who worked for me at TW and went and worked for them, they were dry lining/suspended ceilings but also did some fit-outs and developments so pretty varied. Been working for carpentry & joinery contractor for the last 5 years.Instead of working on 1 big project and looking after lots of differents trades, you suddenly look after 1 trade on lots of different projects.
you will become a lot more knowledgable in that specific trade, where as at a main contractor you have a decent overview of most things and rely of the individual sub contractors for the specific skills.
generally dropping down to a smaller company can give greater prospects, more chance of promotions, directorship etc.... but with this come more responsibility and pressure. are you happy being part of a much bigger machine where every has their own role, because suddenly you can find yourself in a company ordering your own materials for projects, stationary, dealing with the photocopier guy coming to fix a broken machine, taking stuff in a van to guys on-site, chasing payments, making payments, having guys moan about short wages, holiday getting no pay because of weather stopping work....
theres no right or wrong answer i could sit a talk about the stupid things you have to deal with at a smaller sub contractor, but i think you'll get what i'm meaning.
If you've worked for a main contractor then I don't see any problem with moving to sub-contractor, it's still the same role just at a different level on the chain.
cool, thanks for the responses thus far.
something i am going to look at further as has been said, seemingly alot more opportunity for genuine career progression. and even though you are a rung further down the "ladder" this company is increasingly carrying out works as the principal contractor. not only that but they also make very good money. so wouldnt mind being on the lower rung (so to speak) if the company was still making alot of money.
something i am going to look at further as has been said, seemingly alot more opportunity for genuine career progression. and even though you are a rung further down the "ladder" this company is increasingly carrying out works as the principal contractor. not only that but they also make very good money. so wouldnt mind being on the lower rung (so to speak) if the company was still making alot of money.
I don't think you'll get a standard response. The experience will be almost totally dependent on the subbie that you move to and their relationships with the main contractors, suppliers and labour.
I've worked for brilliant subbies and s
t subbies. I've worked with brilliant labour who have overcome all the obstacles to deliver brilliant projects, and unfortunately I've worked with some really poor labour who haven't had the skills or motivation to deliver.
It also depends whether the main contractor needs you or not. If you are going into a sector that has low barriers to entry and there are hundreds of competitors, then the relationship with the main contractors is pretty one sided. However if you are working for a specialist subbie, then often they need you more than you need them.
I've worked for brilliant subbies and s
t subbies. I've worked with brilliant labour who have overcome all the obstacles to deliver brilliant projects, and unfortunately I've worked with some really poor labour who haven't had the skills or motivation to deliver.It also depends whether the main contractor needs you or not. If you are going into a sector that has low barriers to entry and there are hundreds of competitors, then the relationship with the main contractors is pretty one sided. However if you are working for a specialist subbie, then often they need you more than you need them.
GuinnessMK said:
I don't think you'll get a standard response. The experience will be almost totally dependent on the subbie that you move to and their relationships with the main contractors, suppliers and labour.
I've worked for brilliant subbies and st subbies. I've worked with brilliant labour who have overcome all the obstacles to deliver brilliant projects, and unfortunately I've worked with some really poor labour who haven't had the skills or motivation to deliver.
It also depends whether the main contractor needs you or not. If you are going into a sector that has low barriers to entry and there are hundreds of competitors, then the relationship with the main contractors is pretty one sided. However if you are working for a specialist subbie, then often they need you more than you need them.
cool. i didnt think there would be a standard response as such, im just after as much experiences that people have had (good or bad) as possible and how they found the transition.I've worked for brilliant subbies and s
t subbies. I've worked with brilliant labour who have overcome all the obstacles to deliver brilliant projects, and unfortunately I've worked with some really poor labour who haven't had the skills or motivation to deliver.It also depends whether the main contractor needs you or not. If you are going into a sector that has low barriers to entry and there are hundreds of competitors, then the relationship with the main contractors is pretty one sided. However if you are working for a specialist subbie, then often they need you more than you need them.
this is a groundworks company with a very strong name in the region they opperate in, working with a number of blue chip clients. they do have a bespoke/specialist side of the business which is rapidly expanding. the company itself is rapidly expanding. really positive stuff.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff