Family Friendly Week Part 2 – Simon Roberts

Today we interviewed Simon Roberts – Area Development Manager at Lanes Group:

Father and son make a career of it at Lanes in Manchester

Every parent wants their sons or daughters to make a success of their working lives. But in today’s world, rich with opportunities, what career path should they follow?

Well, Lanes Area Development Manager Simon Roberts had no hesitation in suggesting his son, Connah, should consider building a career in the drainage industry.

Connah had been through a number of temporary and part-time jobs since leaving school, and hadn’t found anything he really enjoyed.

But now the 18-year-old is working as a drainage operator at the Lanes Manchester depot, where Simon is one of two area development managers. And, says dad, Connah is really enjoying the experience.

Simon says: “I think Connah had the same reaction to the idea of working in the drainage industry as a lot of young people. They think it will be too dirty, too smelly and a bit of a dead end.

“Well, on all those counts, Connah has found that’s not the case at Lanes. He’s really enjoyed the experience since he joined company. He’s had excellent training. He now realises he is doing a worthwhile and very varied job, and he can see there is good career progression.

“What is pleasing for me, as a parent, is that, in the six months since he joined Lanes, I’ve seen Connah rapidly develop from the classic teenager without a clear sense of direction into a young man with a purpose in life.

“The rest of the operations team have been very supportive, and Connah has fitted in well. He’s found he’s working with a good bunch of people who make coming to work enjoyable.”

Simon might have spotted the opportunity, but it was Connah who had to take it. He went through the full interview and recruitment process, like anyone else, and got the job on merit.

He is kept busy working as a member of the Lanes Manchester operational team, responding to the wide variety of drainage jobs they tackle every day.

Simon says that, now Connah understands the role more, he has his eye on training to become a jet vac tanker engineer or a CCTV drainage survey engineer.

He added: “Another thing Connah likes is the money. The pay’s better than what he got doing temporary jobs like being a waiter for a catering company. He’s now taking driving lessons and wants to buy a car.”

Simon says he likes having his son with him in the same workplace: “I don’t get to see Connah too often because we have such different roles, but it’s good to know he’s doing a job he enjoys that has good prospects.

“The only slight negative is that, one or two times, he has teased me about how I’ve briefed a job, saying I got some details wrong. It doesn’t take any teenager long to find a way to try to get one over their dad. That will never change!”