Dave Fretwell
G F Tomlinson Business Manager
I joined G F Tomlinson Building Ltd in 2004 straight from school as a Technical Apprentice working in the head office learning the administrative and office-based roles and responsibilities.
At 18 I progressed to a site-based role as Assistant Site Manager/Engineer, attending College and then University one day a week to complete my professional qualifications.
The knowledge I gained from seeing how sites operate and how buildings are built first hand kept me motivated and driven to hit the next target. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a project progress in a manner that meets the client’s expectations in quality, time, and safety.
I continued working on sites in a variety of roles until 2017, when I was promoted to Contracts Manager.In this role, I have worked on a number of different types of projects and across various frameworks.
Whilst being involved in the delivery of framework schemes I have led projects requiring an array of skills such as securing additional information for greater accuracy at tender stage, managing the design and building of the project and providing a smooth handover and post-construction.
Having a hands-on approach means I can ensure project teams are working in accordance with the brief as well as having a finger on the pulse for accurate client and stakeholder reporting.
My role allows me to assist with mentoring our Technical Apprentices and early careers Site Managers, drawing on my own apprenticeship experience to support their development.
Dave Fretwell
G F Tomlinson Business Manager
“My experience of all project stages has allowed me to work more closely with clients to understand their briefs and constraints and produce early solutions to construction challenges.”
