Mark hibberd is seeking a break in an industry facing a skills crisis. He's a bright graduate who's willing to learn. But he's in a wheelchair. And he's not getting a chance
Mark Hibberd just graduated from Greenwich University with 2:1 BSc in Building Surveying. He has submitted over 70 applications to work in his field, but has yet to get a single interview. Mark has dystonia, which means he uses a wheelchair. Everyone and their mother proclaims an equal opportunities policy, but nobody will touch this graduate. His tutor confirms he's good and that there are plenty of non-site-based roles out there. The industry bleats about a skills crisis and yet is deaf to the knocking on the door. Here's a day in Mark's life:

09:00 Up and get dressed, normally just T-shirt and tracksuit. Don't wear shirts or trousers as I can't do up buttons. Don't need to be too smart as I am only going into uni for a tutorial. Suits are a problem. What happens if I am out on my own and need the toilet?

09:30 Tea and toast, open the post. Carer sorts out cooking.

11:00 Check e-mail. Touch up my dissertation, a comparison between disabled access to buildings in the UK and America.

The laws relating to disabled access in both countries have evolved over 50 years. The main problem is that they're based on the old Medical Model which sees the person as disabled rather than the barriers society puts up, as defined in the social model. Two guys go to a public building. One walks, the other is in a wheelchair. The entrance has stairs only. Is the disability the fact that one's in a wheelchair, or the fact that the architect excluded a ramp?

I could blather on about this forever, as you can imagine. In doing my degree I was able to achieve a different perspective on the many issues of access.

My degree has turned me on to something else as well: the maintenance and facilities management market really is a whacking great goldmine.

Building maintenance increased in its proportion of overall building works from 25% in the 1950s to 50% in the 1980s, and amounted to over £10 billion per year.

Bearing in mind the importance that buildings play in everyday life, building maintenance is big business and accounts for over 5% of the UK's gross domestic product. The Davis report of 1983, commissioned by the DHSS, gave an estimate of backlogged maintenance at £2 billion. The government is only now taking steps to revamp its public stock, but there's still loads of work out there.

I'd love to get my hands (professionally of course) on a slice of this particular action.

11:30 Tweak my designs for jigs to assist me and sailing colleagues with boat repairs. On Sundays I teach sailing at a club at Surrey Docks Water Sports Centre in London.

12:00 Finish a bit of work for a friend on a refurb of a doctor's surgery. He needed some disabled-access advice. I assessed possible problems. The main issue was door width and turning circles, and the reception counter needed to be lower so someone like me can see over it. The main research I use are the National Register of Access Consultant guidelines, Building Regulations part M and Designing For The Disabled by Selwyn Goldsmith.

I do declare my disability. No point applying if the site is inaccessible

Mark Hibberd

12:30 More job applications. I couldn't begin to name all the companies I've approached. Railtrack, Balfour Beatty, Norwest Holst, Costain, Babtie, and British Waterways. I declare my disability. There is no point applying for a job if the building is not accessible.

12:45 Ring dealer about parts for my chair. Panthera wheelchairs are good but some of the design is stupid. The frame is titanium. Heavy duty but light, but the castor forks are aluminium, which is crap. Hit the slightest broken paving stone and they buckle. At £30 each it can be an expensive hobby.

13:00 Drive into university to meet with friends before a tutorial. Traffic bad, takes about an hour. Gave the editor of Construction Manager a shock when I picked him up at the station the other day. Yes, I can drive. Better than most people on the roads these days. Getting my chair in and out of the van is pretty straightforward.

14:00 Tutorial cancelled. No tutor. Usually we discuss the dissertation and its progress. My tutor suggests changes then I go away and work on them. Traffic bad on the way home.

16:00 Start ringing dealers for a new chair.

17:00 This is starting to get on my wick. They want to sell me heavy, aluminium crap that will last six months. All I'm after is a decent lightweight sports chair for general purpose. I got my titanium-framed Panthera in 1999. It's not doing too badly, but getting a bit beaten up. I have put on a lot of weight since then and it doesn't fit me anymore.

17:30 I'll give up for today. Feels like I'm treading water, which is exhausting.

Source

Construction Manager