Jamie Marks is a seasoned professional with 14 years of experience working for Strata. Over the years, he has played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and has climbed up the ranks to become a project manager.
We took an opportunity to catch up with Jamie to find out what working for Strata is like and what he gets up to in his free time…
How did you get into the industry and what has your career journey looked like?
“I guess my journey began with growing up around a dad who worked in the construction industry. I have fond memories as a kid of my mum taking me to visit him at work and vividly remember the smells of freshly plastered walls and cut timber.
We also had a workshop in the garden kitted out with some pretty cool machinery where my dad would make sash windows, doors, and other project pieces. When he wasn’t fabricating bits for work, he had side interests in making pendulum clocks, doll houses, and all manner of furniture for our house and for other people. You would often find me in the workshop, making stuff from all the scrap wood I could find and learning how to use the tools.
For my work experience, I was placed with a construction company. It was primarily domestic work, and although I couldn’t do too much it was still my first-time being part of a team working on a project. I think by the end of it I was certain it was in this industry I wanted to work in and during my last year of secondary, I began writing letters to local companies asking if apprenticeships were available.
After leaving school I went to Taylor Wimpey College in Aylesford to work on getting my NVQ level 2 in Carpentry and Joinery. I then heard back from one of the companies I had written to and began my site placement apprenticeship with Peach Contractors. After completing level 2 the company wanted me to stay on both with them and at college to achieve my NVQ level 3. I was then with Peach for 10 years.
After leaving Peach I become self-employed primarily working for one builder. Although I only did this for a couple of years I learned a lot in various trades, project organisation, and customer relations which hadn’t been part of my previous job.”
When did you start at Strata?
“I started with Strata in 2009. I was brought in by a friend I’d worked with at Peach’s who had joined strata a few months earlier. His partner was about to give birth and he was going on paternity leave, so they needed another carpenter to help out for a project at a post office sorting depot in Wembley. I was self-employed throughout these works and as the project drew to a close, I asked Nick if there was a place for me in the company, his response was that if Strata won a project at Kingshill I had the job. Lucky for me the job landed and here I am.”
How has your role changed within the time you have been at Strata?
“A year or so after joining Strata I was made a supervisor; this was pretty much doing the same thing but additional responsibility in the overall delivery of the works. When the workload with Burberry began to increase, I was moved across to maintenance where in time my role moved to be more of a project supervisor/manager.
A few months after returning from furlough following Covid our team had reduced significantly leaving me as the only carpenter left in the company. When the workload of project management duties and the actual carrying out of work became too stretched, I moved to a sole carpentry position. This not only had the benefit of freeing me up to concentrate more on the work that needed completing, but it also put me in the unique position to be able to advise the new project managers that joined on procedures both in the office and on-site.
Now two years later I have been fortunate enough to be promoted to a Finishing Supervisor. It’s a role that’s new to me and the company but I believe it’s working well to serve both the new and current guys on site and also the management team to resolve challenges and hopefully help works flow more smoothly.”
What is a typical day like for you at Strata?
“One of the things I truly love about the job is no two days are the same. There is always a project to be worked on, a problem to solve, a job to organise, works to be surveyed, drawings to makeup, furniture to be fabricated, hardware to source…the list goes on. It certainly keeps you on your toes!”
Where do you see your career going in the future?
“The company has moved on in many positive ways in the last few years, I see my future in being part of the development and ongoing improvements that will see us all in happiness, wealth, and good health.”
What do you like doing outside of work?
“Spending time with the family is always great. My daughters are young women now so it’s always nice when we can find time to all go out as a family. Outside of that I occasionally play a bit of football, however, my main enjoyment is still spending time in the workshop making stuff.”
