I left behind my life in architecture two years ago and have found myself reflecting on the move to work contractor-side, recalling my first days at Wates. Every new member of the company is made to jump through the obligatory training hoops, with online courses aimed to keep us personally safe on site – asbestos awareness, alcohol and drug awareness, hazardous substances – as well as to keep us within the law – anti-bribery and corruption, modern slavery, data privacy. In addition, Wates has its own code of conduct and a “respect for people” module for new starters, with the company mantra of “zero harm”.

To someone coming from the smaller world of architectural practice, it was a long way off from the accustomed norm of being handed a copy of the company handbook (if even this existed) to add to a mounting pile of “things to read” and a quick half-hour induction of where files are kept on the server. Induction at Wates was a different process altogether.

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