Shift Manager
Spicers
Trevor H
00:00:02 My name is Trevor H. I’ve worked here for seven years and my main job at the moment is the shift manager’s job, which involves organising the shift of 25 people to ensure that the jobs are done on a daily basis. So, it’s pulling the three main shifts together to gain the end result.
00:00:23 When I first started at Spicers I was stock audit and responsible for the stock in the warehouse. I’ve just progressed basically through the company. There’s an opportunity to be temporary shift manager and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.
00:00:38 In school my focus was definitely carpentry and metalwork. The intention when I left school was to do my metalwork apprenticeship as a tool maker, which I did do. I was encouraged certainly by my parents to follow that route. I decided I would try design draughtsman and started my ONC course as a design draughtsman which I completed up to year two and found that it wasn’t my cup of tea as such. I always worked part time in the pubs and I found so much fun in doing that that I eventually gave up my draughtsman’s job and went full time into the pub trade.
00:01:22 My first pub as single manager, I was the single manager at 21, licensee holder and that was a Squaddie Pub in Colchester. I basically got the opportunity to take it or leave and I thought, “I’ve got to go for it.” The first night they got me they played planes. You have a pilot, two engines and a tailgater and you’re all playing along and I was joining in with them, you know, want to make friends and that and then the pilot says, “Engine one’s on fire, engine one’s on fire.” And you don’t realise that someone’s got the fire extinguisher and putting the fire out and I’m engine one. That was good, I really enjoyed it. I spent a couple of years there and moved onto the next pub, and they did look after me.
00:02:05 There was around a 10 year period I’d worked in the pubs, I’d got married and settled down and my wife had got to the opinion that she didn’t want to carry on doing it. So, this is where I decided to make a change and move into the stock audit side of the pub business.
00:02:23 The last two years I’ve just spent completing my carpentry apprenticeship. I’ve done that at night school over the last two years. It’s things which I’m interested in and I do at home and it’s a relaxation. I don’t think I would ever change my field of work now. I’ve come too far to change direction and start again.
00:02:43 The house I’ve bought is an old farm house, dates back to the 16th century. My pleasure time is restoring that. When we first bought the house I went and done a bricklaying course and I’ve built a double garage. That’s how I work. If I need to learn something I’ll go and learn it and then I can do it. I always have self doubts whether I’m good enough to complete the task I want to do, but you’ve just got to overcome that and push yourself and at the end of the day you can really do whatever you want if you really believe you want to do it.
00:03:17 I like fly fishing and I’m only just learning about it. To go to Alaska and catch one of the salmon or trout like that, that would be a dream. It would be about four, five years now I’ve been fly fishing. It’s a bit nerdy, I suppose, people would say but it is good.
00:03:35 I’d prefer to be remembered in life not so much for my career. I’d like to be remembered that I’d always take time to listen to people. The other thing I’d like to be remembered for is being fair and trustworthy. Yeah, I’d say that’s more important to me than my career.
ENDS
Trevor H is a Shift Manager at Spicers, an office supplies wholesaler. But he started off qualifying as a toolmaker, then became a design draughtsman. But he realised he enjoyed his casual work in pubs more than his day job, so he became a publican. He managed various pubs for about ten years until his wife persuaded him to do something more settled. He chose stock audit, in the pub business at first and then for Spicers. Now he’s trying out managing a shift in the warehouse. But he has never lost interested in the practical skills. He has just finished a two year apprenticeship in carpentry at night school and in his spare time he is restoring a 16th century farmhouse.
More information about Production managers and directors in manufacturing
The UK average salary is £29,813
There are 37.5 hours in the average working week
The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male
Future employment
- Liaises with other managers to plan overall production activity and daily manufacturing activity, sets quality standards and estimates timescales and costs;
- Manages production to ensure that orders are completed to an agreed date and conform to customer and other requirements;
- Monitors production and production costs and undertakes or arranges for the preparation of reports and records;
- Oversees supervision of the production line and its staff, ensures targets are met.
