David Aikenhead, dumper driver
David joined VGC in November 2015. He currently works on VGC’s contract with Morgan Sindall at Glasgow airport as a dumper driver.
He and colleagues Chris Turner and Robert Clark attended a grant-funded return-to-work scheme which culminated in the award of the PTS (personal track safety) qualification. After completing our stringent recruitment and selection process, they were accepted to work for VGC on the prestigious Edinburgh – Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).
David wasn’t used to working full-time at first. “It was strange to me to spend more time with these guys than with my own family,” he noted. But he has found he really appreciates the bond with his colleagues. “I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Long hours and hard work are part of the job, but working with a good bunch of guys you can trust makes it great.”
We funded additional training for him, including OLEC 1, ICI, strimmer, RD4000 and first aid training, and he became his team’s first aider. VGC is now funding his SSSTS as he works towards becoming a site supervisor.
“I get great feedback from every site David works on,” said Sean Dempsey, labour manager. “He is always keen to improve his knowledge of working on infrastructure. Also, he has a great attitude towards health and safety on every task he undertakes. He is a true gentleman, and I hope he has many happy years with us at VGC.”
Chris and Robert are also doing well. They continue working on EGIP: Chris on route-wide civils troughing and walkways as part of our contract with Morgan Sindall, and Robert installing blow fibre cables for our client Optilan.