Member Article

Cornwall housing makes dream come true for former RAF officer

Ben Wearne from Hayle was looking for a new career after leaving the RAF and now, with help from Cornwall Housing, is about to realise his dream of becoming a gas engineer.

Ben enrolled on the Accredited Certification Scheme for Gas Fitting Operatives (ACS) course with Brookhouse Training - a gas training company well known for its MOD resettlement support.

As part of Brookhouse Training’s commitment to provide each gas student with real-life work experience they approached Cornwall Housing to see if they had a mentoring placement available.

Cornwall Housing were happy to help and Peter Sandry, Mechanical & Electrical Services Manager found Ben a placement in the gas team based in Threemilestone, Truro.

Ben quickly settled into his new role and worked alongside Cornwall Housing’s experienced gas engineers on their visits to tenants and customers’ homes. During these visits Ben learnt skills which will allow him to service appliances, install boilers and respond to breakdown calls in the future.

Ben has now completed 35 of the required 40 days to complete his portfolio and is looking forward to completing his training and becoming a fully qualified gas engineer. Ben is really grateful for the opportunity provided by Cornwall Housing and said:

“I would like to thank Cornwall Housing for the opportunity to finish my training as a gas engineer. The gas team has taken really good care of me and the training provided has been really useful and should ensure that I qualify and am able to seek employment in this trade. I would also like to say a big thank you to the gas engineers for putting up with, and answering, all of my questions and a big thanks to Gavin Derbyshire for his help and support”.

Gavin, one of Cornwall Housing’s Mechanical Services Team Leaders said: “Ben has done a great job and has adapted to the training really well. The skills from his previous role in the RAF have proved very useful and I am confident that he will find a job in the trade very soon.”

Roy Parsk, work placement officer and Brookhouse Training says: “We’re incredibly grateful to Cornwall Housing. With their support ben can now move forward and fulfil his future career goals.”

Ben was in the RAF for 13 years and was most recently based at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. Ben is from Carbis Bay and is resettling with his family in Hayle.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Brookhouse Training .