"GVA is a great company to work for, and I am very fortunate to be employed by them.
My working in the Mineral, Waste Management and Energy department has been so varied. Most of my day to day work in the team included writing valuation reports, calculating whether a site needed to appeal its rateable value and dealing with enquiries for sites that were on the market. Site visits include looking at incinerators, compost heaps and recycling plants covering all aspects of waste management. There is always something to do!

GVA provides a very good training scheme for the APC, which is one of the advantages of being employed by a large company.

The office is ideally situated in London's West End, with a friendly working atmosphere with lots of support. There are plenty of social activities too - I've joined the netball, hockey and soft ball teams, which is an ideal way to meet staff from the other departments."

Alice Haxby
Rotational London, Graduate commercial surveyor

"The first thing that struck me when I began working for GVA was how much responsibility graduates are given from day one. Being trusted with direct exposure to major clients may have been a little daunting to begin with, but the supportive atmosphere in each team means that everyone is very approachable.

I am just coming to the end of my first rotation in Property Management. I have been involved with everything from reviewing a major retailer's plans to fit-out their flagship store to routine landlord's inspections. It has been a hugely varied, very busy, but ultimately highly rewarding eight months.

My next assignment will be in the Valuation Services department and I'm looking forward to getting the same level of experience as I have done over the last eight months."

Charlie Walker
Rotational London, Graduate commercial surveyor

"I've been made to feel immediately welcome and at ease since joining Manchester's planning, development and regeneration team. GVA's Manchester office, and indeed the property profession in general, is very sociable meaning there's always something to get involved in.

I've had client exposure from day one working on a diverse range of projects across the region and beyond, from inputting into applications for major greenbelt housing developments to town centre retail-led regeneration schemes. My work is diverse and changes day-to-day.

George Smith
Manchester, Graduate planner

"My day-to-day activities vary week to week, but typically include writing reports, liaising with clients, participating in site inspections, undertaking comparable searches and running valuations. Working for GVA has allowed me to gain valuation experience on a range of instructions from desktop valuations for small secondary industrial units to high profile instructions for multi-million pound investment portfolios. My involvement and responsibilities are supervised by respected experts within the industry. The experiences I have gained have given me a solid foundation for going on to the take my APC and for my career beyond."

James Salmon
Birmingham, Graduate commercial surveyor

"As someone combining work with a part-time Building Surveying MSc I have found GVA to be thoroughly supportive, allowing me the time required for my studies and the guidance and support I have received from all of my colleagues has been invaluable.

Having the opportunity to carry out my own inspections, surveys, negotiations with contractors, and meetings with a whole host of different people from within the property sector (to list but a few), has made my role as a graduate building surveyor extremely rewarding. It's incredibly satisfying seeing the work I am doing have a direct impact on the success of each project.

It's been a challenging and rewarding role, in equal measure, but I have gained a fantastic amount of experience in these first few months and will, no doubt, continue to take on even more responsibility on an increasingly exciting array of projects as I progress."

Will Blackburn
London, Graduate building surveyor

"I applied to do a summer placement at GVA whilst studying for my MSc. Following my exams, I had the opportunity to work for the Minerals and Waste management team in the Valuation Services division. The placement provided me with a great chance to improve my technical skills and property knowledge. More importantly I gained a first hand insight into how the company was run and the type of people in it. Working at GVA provided a hugely varied experience with a high level of responsibility given immediately. This is typified in spending my first week inspecting biomass incinerators in the North East and having the opportunity to work on valuation reports for properties worth over £10 million. The experiences gained and the people I worked with were a major factor in applying for a place on the graduate scheme. Being able to draw on my experiences from my placement was invaluable during my successful Graduate application process and I am now working as a graduate surveyor in London."

James Warner
London, 3 month work placement

"I joined GVA's Planning, Development and Regeneration department in August 2011 on a four-week summer work placement.

Over the four weeks, my work involved gathering market evidence for development appraisals, researching site histories and policy contexts. I also carried out site assessments for an Employment Land Review and a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment.

My placement at GVA was very well structured, with weekly catch-up sessions and performance feedback, which enabled me to get the most out of the work experience. I learned a lot about what a career in property actually entails - and more specifically what GVA had to offer. I found it to be a really welcoming, friendly company, and I really enjoyed my placement. I was delighted to be offered a graduate role as a planning and development surveyor following my success at the Graduate Assessment Centre."

Isobel Pierce
London, Summer work placement

"The GVA summer placement I undertook in GVA's Newcastle office has proved invaluable to my career development. I worked in the Corporate Recovery department and was exposed to a wide number of areas of the day to day work carried out by the team.

This included preparing marketing material to sell properties, showing possible buyers around properties for sale and visiting the tenanted properties which the team was managing. As well as Corporate Recovery, I also spent time with teams in Valuation, Lease Consultancy, Investment and Land and Development, so this provided me with a very diverse placement.

I did not know Newcastle well, so working in Newcastle was a great opportunity to explore the local area on site visits as well as shop in the city centre at lunchtimes. The placement was an excellent stepping stone to secure a graduate job at GVA, which I will be taking up once I have completed by RICS accredited MSc."

Anya Leusink
Newcastle, Summer work placement

"Upon arriving at GVA's Leeds office on the first day of my placement year I was greeted by a very positive and professional environment.

Within the first few months in the Building team I was involved in a variety of instructions. The majority of my tasks included assisting senior colleagues in site inspections, project monitoring, AutoCAD design, specification work and measured surveys, all of which I was able to record as vital experience for the first year of my APC.

As I progressed through my placement year I was given the opportunity to act as the main Contract Administrator on two separate occasions for refurbishment instructions. Being given the opportunity and responsibility of looking after these jobs was a great confidence boost and helped in the overall progression of my building surveying skills.

I also had the chance to attend numerous client and contractor events - German beer festivals, indoor go-karting and 5-a-side football tournaments to name a few! There is a great social scene amongst the GVA graduates which can be seen throughout the working atmosphere within the Leeds office."

Rob Devoy
Leeds, Building

"As a current work placement student at GVA within the Building division I can say if you are looking to sit back, relax and make a couple of coffee runs throughout the year this is not the right company for you,! But don't be put off if you work hard for this company you reap the rewards and the social life of the GVA can only be summed up as amazing.

GVA gives you the opportunity to excel, they provide a great support system and allow you to take over your own jobs making the placement exciting, fun and challenging from day one. The fact that every day is different makes it even more interesting and enjoyable integrating office work and site visits. GVA creates a great 'hands on' learning atmosphere allowing you to become involved in a variety of different jobs for a range of properties including commercial, residential and grade listed all of which contribute to your APC training. GVA has really helped me to progress within my time here and I will most definitely be looking to join the graduate scheme on completion of my degree."

Katie Constable-Mayne
Manchester, Building