Tell us about your career background and your current role: I left school without too many qualifications. My Dad is a truck driver and all I wanted to do was to be a driver too. During my school holidays, I would spend many days going out with him in his truck. When I said I wanted to be a driver my Dad said, “you can always be a driver, but you need to get a trade first”. Of course, at that time you couldn’t drive an LGV until you were 21.
When I was 15 in 2003, during the Easter holidays in my last year at school, my Dad got me two weeks’ work experience working in the garage at Firow Ltd in Northwich and I loved it. In those two weeks, I got involved in so many things and I enjoyed it so much I remember thinking “I can’t believe you get paid for doing a great job like this”.
Firow must have been impressed with me as they offered me a full-time job. Straight after taking my last exam at school, my Mum picked me up from school and dropped me off at my new job. I swapped my school uniform for overalls and I was away. I stayed with the company for five years and completed my light vehicle and LGV mechanic qualifications on day release.
My other career highlights included spells at Volvo which was both exciting and demanding; working on a self-employed basis as a mobile mechanic travelling nationwide, and a spell in Perth, Australia working for a Caterpillar dealership.
In 2013, I joined Boughey as an HGV Technician servicing our fleet of vehicles and trailers. We have a team of eight technicians working around the clock – five working days and three working nights.
What do you like most about working here? A big draw for me is the working hours here. I work a 12-hour four-on four-off shift pattern from 7.00am to 7.00pm. The lads I work with are really great – they’re not only colleagues, but friends too. We all have our specialist areas and it works really well, and we work in a clean and tidy environment. The job is also good for fitness as I regularly clock-up 20,000 steps in a day!
It’s a very supportive stress-free working environment and if any of us have any issues or challenges they get sorted straightaway. It’s also good to be able to go home at night not having to worry about work. It’s like working in a top-notch dealership without constraints and time pressure. The safety of our trucks is always the number one priority.
No two days are ever the same. Trucks are constantly changing and being updated so you are always being challenged.
