Staff Stories – Estates Operative by day, drummer by night

Scott is part of the Estates team at Preston College – a small and friendly team that play a vital role in making sure the College keeps running. Scott finds the role of Estates Operative fits around his other commitments including playing the drums for not one, but four bands!

Estates Operatives have shift patterns that are either morning start or evening finishes. They are the first to arrive in the morning, opening the campus for staff and students and the last to leave, locking up the buildings to make sure everything is secure.

Scott says: “The Estates Operative job can’t easily be described, there is so much going on at the Fulwood campus. People mistakenly think that the job is about cleaning but that isn’t the case, there is a fantastic cleaning team here that handle that side of things. For the estates team it could be anything from setting up an event, conducting an office move, or undertaking campus maintenance and repairs. The early shifts are my favourite, I enjoy working in the mornings and having the earlier finish to attend band practices and gigs or even just to play on my own.”

At Preston College the Estates team are often in high demand, they are the go-to team to get things done whether it is fixing a door, moving desks or repairing a ceiling – they take care of it all. Working at a Further Education College, has a wide range of benefits too, including CPD (Continuing Professional Development) and progression opportunities, a generous holiday allowance and Local Government pension contributions up to 18%.

Scott continues:
“Every day is different and working on a campus this size you get to meet so many different people. It is a friendly place to work and the staff really appreciate the work that the team do. It is nice to be recognised and the team regularly get nominations for team of the month and the staff awards, not to mention the odd box of chocolates here and there.

Since working at Preston College, I have had the opportunity to develop my skills further, I have taken on the extra responsibility of being a first aider and have recently completed my IOSH course in health and safety. I’m looking to study a NEBOSH course next and the College fully support my development.”

We’re Hiring!
Preston College has generous terms and conditions and an excellent benefits package that is intended to attract, motivate, and retain the best people to help drive the College forward. We are recognised as disability confidence employer, accredited as ‘Gold’ for Investors in People and have a range of family friendly policies.

Visit our vacancies page for the latest opportunities.