Name: Edward Cheng Hengkim
Occupation: Quantity Surveyor/ Estimator in Warwick Avenue, London, United Kingdom
1. Your brief biography. Introduce yourself, your university course(s), professional role(s), company and location of working.
My name is Edward Cheng and I completed my postgraduate study – MSc in Project Management at Sheffield Hallam University in year 2009. I am a recent qualified Chartered Quantity Surveyor working in a construction company located in central London which is specialised in residential, commercial, and fit-out projects.
2. Your experiences. Where have you overcome challenges whilst working in an international context or alongside international colleagues? What were you prepared for? What were you not prepared for? How did you cope?
I worked for a couple of years in the construction industry back in Malaysia before furthering my studies in UK. There are definitely some major differences in terms of construction culture where in Malaysia; the projects were usually more labour intensive compared to UK. Also, not to mention, there are many statutory requirements and regulations in the UK and these regulations would constantly be reviewed by the government to ensure continuous improvement are achieved.
The technology (materials, specifications and construction methods) preferred in UK construction industry are also slightly different compared to Malaysia due to the different weather, market conditions and etc. We may have different interpretation in terms of aesthetically, design and functionality etc. but of course this would be based on the client and architect’s preferences.
A competent Quantity Surveyor must be able to quickly capture all these requirements, factors, criteria which will affect the construction cost. (There are more factors which will affect the cost but it will not be discussed here due to the fact that these are all textbooks based)
I prefer to communicate with the design team, people on site and/or liaise with the suppliers to constantly pick up their thoughts. I listen carefully to their requirements, their concerns and try to understand the reasons behind their decisions or choices etc. Communication barrier may be a problem at first but this will soon fade as time passed once you get used to it. Patience, toleration and respect to other people are really important when working in a company with people from diversify culture.
One of the advantages in working in the UK is the opportunity to work with people from different background, ethnics and we can learn from each other despite of our differences. I genuine believe that we are more alike than we thought we are despite the obvious.
3. What advice would you share? Describe one personal intercultural skill that you think is needed as a professional.
Respect and listen to others carefully is important whether you working back at home or abroad. If you do not understand the questions, you can always ask politely to explain it to you again. There is no shame in this. Have an open mind and challenge the question with confidence if it does not make sense to you. Always put yourself in other people position before saying or doing anything.
4. What do you think the Global Employability Portal should include to be most useful to employers and graduates?
I think the Global Employability Portal should include a section which list candidates who are working in a certain region/ country for networking purposes. It is always useful to find someone who can advise you more about the places where they are working thus allowing you to gain more information for a better preparation to move forward.
PassPort Portal 