I joined Brammer in June 2001 as a Business Trainee. This was an extensive programme designed to give me a working experience of every department in Brammer. Throughout this period I was challenged with projects, product training and examinations. Part of the programme was to complete a diploma in Management Studies. On completion of the course I was equipped with both theory and practical experience that enabled me to take up a position of Branch Manager designate.

I was based at Blackburn for several months and this involved aiding the manager with the day-to-day running of the branch and the challenge of increasing sales and reducing costs. Part of this role also involved working at several different Sales & Service Centres around the country. This introduced me to a variety of different management styles, and the opportunity to adopt a range of best practice. In October 03 I took the role of Sales Office Manager at Ellesmere Port. This involved the day-to-day running of the branch, cost control, staff management and ensuring customer service was at a consistently high standard.

The last 3 years have ultimately been about gaining experience and knowledge from a combination of training courses and working closely with Brammer's best managers in order to develop the necessary skills to progress up the career ladder of BSL Brammer. In Feb 05 I was appointed as Branch Manager at Blackburn, where I am now able to put into practice all the knowledge I have acquired during my training.

Dave Dowling

I joined Brammer in 2003 after nearly 4 years in the financial services industry. Having come from a background in agriculture I was keen to get back to an industry where I was able to ‘get my hands dirty’. I joined the company’s Business Trainee scheme, which is an intensive management programme designed to produce the managers of tomorrow. The programme gave me the opportunity of exposure to all areas of the business ranging from the branch network to the central support functions.

Working for Brammer means that you get different experiences every working day. One day you are office based, the next you can be inside a machine or on a platform 100 ft in the air identifying a product a customer wants you to source.

Such variety in your working day means you don’t get time to be bored; every day poses new challenges, which means you keep learning and developing.

Jason Harries

Originally I was a customer of Brammer, before actually joining Brammer in 1988. The people at Brammer always seemed so friendly, so when a vacancy became available at the Merthyr Tydfil Branch, I saw the opportunity to join their team.

Initially I started as internal sales assistant and have been the manager of Merthyr Tydfil branch for the last eight years. When I started I was working in a male dominated industry and had to work hard to gain the confidence and respect of many of the customers, but Brammer has offered equal opportunities and we now have many women in our industry, who have the opportunity to progress up the career ladder.

Over the years I have seen the company evolve alongside the ever-changing face of British and European industry, Brammer often playing a leading role in these developments. As a company we have made some mistakes along the way but we have learnt from these mistakes, and we have used this to strengthen our knowledge and service to our customers. In the future I would like to see the business progress with an electronic catalogue for some of our larger well-established customers whose IT capabilities have developed and hopefully ours can develop alongside theirs.

I enjoy the fast pace of the working day, no two days are ever the same and each day brings a new challenge. I enjoy the customer interaction and being competitive with my fellow colleagues, and although we compete with each other we also support and encourage each other to succeed. I feel passionate about my job striving to achieve the highest standard of customer service and fulfilling my objectives and targets to contribute to the success and future of Brammer.

Tanya Bell