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Success stories
At the age of 56, Michael now has everything he ever wanted in a job, working as a Catering Equipment Engineer!
Michael is pictured here outside the Domestic Appliance Servicing training section at the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College.
He successfully completed his training course at the College in August 2006, and is now working for the Beaumont Group, a company that specialise in the servicing and repair of commercial catering equipment.
This was a complete change of direction for him! He’d spent thirty years as a chef, and for the last ten years he’d also been running his own hotel. He came back to tell us his story.
This is how it all started…
A few years ago Michael had a motorcycle accident and injured his hand. He had three operations, but was still suffering from osteoarthritis, and could no longer work as a chef. He sold his hotel in Wales and moved back to Essex where he originally came from. He decided he wanted to get away from the hotel industry and start a new career.
A friend told him about the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College, so he attended an Open Day to find out more. His hand had improved quite a lot by then, so he opted for the Domestic Appliance Servicing course, with a view to getting into the catering industry, and within a few months of applying he’d started on the course. Michael told me: “I was very nervous at first, despite my previous experience as a hotel manager. However, Rob, my instructor, was very patient and understanding. He often dealt with me on a one-to-one basis, and he had tremendous product knowledge! If anyone is interested in the course or the College, I’d certainly recommend it. I didn’t have any complaints at all, and I really enjoyed the social life. The College has everything you need.”
After Michael had completed the College-based part of his training course, he went on to do a work placement, arranged through our Employment Development Department, with the Beaumont Group, and was placed with a senior engineer for several weeks. Chris Summers, the Area Manager, (who had also trained at the College) told me that Michael was enthusiastic, keen to learn and had a very positive attitude. He knew that the training Michael had done at the College stood him in good stead. The placement went very well, and Michael was offered a permanent job with the company as a Catering Equipment Engineer.
Michael has been working with the Beaumont Group now since October 2006. He’s based from home, and has a uniform and a company van. The job involves visiting McDonald’s Restaurants, covering a wide area in the South East from Brighton up to Ipswich. He carries out both services and repairs to equipment, such as grills, deep fat fryers, ice-cream machines and drinks dispensers. He’s already done several training courses including one in Italy. He said, “It can be quite high-tech, programming computers etc., but I do enjoy it, despite the pressures. I learnt all the core skills I now need for the trade on the Domestic Appliance Servicing Course at the College. Bearing in mind it was a complete change of direction, it’s basically everything I wanted in a job!”
