Career Profile
Ross Nicholls
Rotating Equipment Maintenance Technician
Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved taking things apart and putting them back together again - it’s in my nature, I guess. So while I was still at school, I applied for nine engineering apprenticeships, one of which was Dow Corning’s four-year Maintenance Modern Apprenticeship. Believe it or not, I was offered a place on all nine, each of them at really good companies too. But it was Dow Corning that got my vote in the end. As a local lad I knew quite a few people who worked at the site, including family members, so I was aware of the kind of things they could offer me - global prospects, good benefits and, just as importantly, job stability. Besides which, they were only down the road from where I lived!
I began the apprenticeship in August 1998, not long after finishing my GCSEs. My first year was spent studying for an NVQ Level 2 and ONC in Plant Maintenance (PM) at Barry College, while my second year consisted of four days of on-site basic skills training and a day release to Barry College to complete the ONC. My third and fourth years involved a day-release to complete my HNC in Mechanical Engineering and working alongside plant technicians to build up my skills and knowledge base, which is important as you’re expected to work independently within the last six months of the programme. Unfortunately, mid-way through my apprenticeship I suffered a serious footballing injury and was incapacitated for quite some time. Luckily for me, the company was very understanding and really supportive. Not only that, but I was able to make a quicker recovery thanks to the private healthcare cover I was entitled to as an employee.
After two years as a Craftsperson (the title successful apprentices are given) I became a fully-fledged Technician. Working as part of a large team, I fix and maintain all rotating plant components - pumps, fans and compressors, etc - making sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. It’s a really interesting job and really varied too: one minute I’ll be fault-fixing in the workshop, the next I’ll be carrying out urgent maintenance work on the plant, kitted out in full personal protective equipment. I’ve also spent some time at our Carrollton site in the US, where I helped out with their plant shutdown. There are so many different challenges to get stuck into every day, not least because there are literally hundreds of pieces of rotating equipment that could break down at any time, potentially costing the company millions of pounds. In addition to my technical responsibilities I’m a new apprentice mentor and safety programme co-ordinator, a role in which, as a member of the Site Safety Council, I can influence safety-related policies and practices.
One of the best things about working here is that you’re always learning something new. In terms of training, you name it and I’ve done it: forklift training, safety training, technical training, chemical awareness training... the lot. At the moment I’m on an IOSH course, which will prove invaluable if, say, I wanted to step up to a supervisory position in a couple of years. Who knows, by then I could be working at our new site in China - an option I’m seriously considering.
I’ve no regrets about joining Dow Corning. None whatsoever. I’m in a job I love, in a team I respect, and in a company that’s got a fantastic future. And, after all these years, it still takes me only ten minutes to walk to work.
