A young quantity surveyor from Sevenoaks has beaten off competition from more than 40 of his Bellway colleagues across the country to be named the national housebuilder’s Graduate of the Year.

Kieran Broom, 26, who joined the company’s West Malling-based Kent division in January last year, received the award in recognition of his high performance and leadership.

Part of the first cohort of recruits to Bellway’s new graduate programme, Kieran started off as a commercial graduate and after completing the scheme earlier this year is now an Assistant Quantity Surveyor.

Joining Bellway represented something of a career change for Kieran, who graduated from Nottingham Trent university with a degree in Information and Communications Technology. He previously worked for a consultancy company, as a business analyst for the Home Office, and then for an accountancy firm.

But soon realising that working in the City wasn’t for him, Kieran began to consider other options, and after talking to people within the construction sector, decided to pursue a career within the industry.

Kieran said: “The graduate scheme had really come about via word of mouth and after speaking to people within construction, they had recommended Bellway to me due to its reputation for build quality and internal progression.

“When I was deciding what I wanted to do, I just focused on what I liked doing. I have always been interested in houses and housebuilding. It is a great way to get up and get out on site and to visit different places. It has given me a great flexibility and I enjoy what I do.”

Having encountered challenges of all types along the way, Kieran is convinced those experiences will benefit him in the long run.

He said: “It had been a challenging start, but it has been great. Working through a pandemic shortly after I had started was tough, but I was given a good grounding to be able to work effectively.

“I was thrown in at the deep end, but it helped me to learn, grow and develop in the role. I feel it is the best place for me.”

Now that he is settled in the construction industry, Kieran is looking forward to the future and progressing through the ranks at Bellway.

He said: “I have a lot of goals that I want to achieve and I have set my standards high. I am committed to working my way up the ladder and getting myself into a management role. To be a senior member at Bellway requires a lot of hard work and building on my experience.

“Joining Bellway has given me endless opportunities and a lot of insight into how the business operates. Experiencing work at group level at the head office has given me an insight into different aspects of how the business works, which is a vital source of information when you are still learning.”

A total of 38 graduates joined the Bellway ranks from September 1 across a range of disciplines from marketing and sales to construction and planning. 

For more information on the graduate programme at Bellway, visit https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/graduate-programme/.

For information on Bellway Kent developments, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/kent.