I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was at school. I stumbled my way into some A Levels with the same lack of direction. I’d of loved to have been a professional musician but a lack of any ability held me back.

After working in a selection of random jobs (warehouseman, pest control officer) I decided to further my education and went to University to study a BSc (Hons) In Heritage Conservation. I’d always had an interest in museums and history. It’s there that my interest in the conservation of buildings started. After a break from studying where I worked in engineering, I enrolled at John Moore’s University to undertake an MSc in Commercial Building Surveying with a plan to become a Chartered Surveyor hoping to specialise in building conservation.

After graduating I managed to get work in Leeds as a Stock Condition Surveyor where I learnt the basics of the industry that would be the mainstay of my professional career for over twenty years.

I first encountered Rand Associates in 2008. I applied for and was offered the role of Manager of the Northern Office. The job entailed the day to day management of a team of Surveyors undertaking Stock Condition Surveys, recruitment, training, producing final reporting and a host of other tasks. I became a Chartered member of the RICS in 2009 and left Rand Associates in 2010 to gain experience outside social housing with Liverpool Council’s joint venture with Mouchel Parkman 2020 Liverpool. This role saw me overseeing minor works to schools and the Council’s corporate portfolio.

In 2012 my wife and I moved to Devon where I worked as the Head of Surveying for a Housing Association. This role saw me responsible for insourcing a number of previously outsourced services such as Stock Condition Surveys, Asbestos Surveying, and Estate Inspections. After ten years the whole team consisted of over fifty people. Through various restructures I became responsible for retrofit and trained as a Retrofit Assessor and Coordinator.

I’d kept in touch with a few of my former colleagues at Rand Associates who were now leading the company. Rand Associates were also now being asked by their existing clients if they knew anyone who could help them navigate the challenges of PAS2035 and SHDF funding. Conversations developed very swiftly and I then moved back to Rand Associates in 2022 to take up their offer to lead a new Net Zero department.

Since 2022 the team has grown from just me to eight staff across the UK. We’re also actively recruiting for more! Rand Associates are now able to provide all of the PAS2035 roles from Assessment, Design, Coordination, and Evaluation. The Net Zero team have also been busy growing other services such as; Clerk of Works inspections focussing on mid and post works checks of the installations of retrofit components, Energy Advice services where we assist residents with how to use their new technologies and set up their SEG applications, and Sustainability Strategies where we develop strategies for clients to help them identify and achieve their goals.  

While almost all professionals will feel the challenges of working within an emerging industry like Retrofit and PAS, I feel privileged to work alongside my team providing a professional consultancy service for our clients. I’m also very grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact to peoples’ lives by helping them to reduce their utility costs.