Antony Crossman (28) - Now A Plumber
The prospect of following in your father’s footsteps is familiar to many people, but this concept has now become a reality in the case of Antony Crossman. Antony, had been working in telesales, but, after feeling unfulfilled, decided to take a leaf out of his father’s book and switch to a more hands on career.
Antony follows in his father's footsteps
The former telesales worker retrained with New Career Skills, the same company his father, Nigel, and, just like his dad, he is now running his own successful plumbing company.
Antony said: “Dad retrained with a company called New Career Skills after being made redundant from his job in retail. It was a smart move because three years later his business is booming and he’s very happy.
“After leaving education I worked in various jobs, including those as a retail manager, an estate agent and in telesales but I knew it wasn’t for me. I had enough of trying to sell things to people that they didn’t want. The work also sometimes involved late finishes, which was not ideal as I have a young son.
“At first I was apprehensive about retraining but Dad highly recommended it and was very supportive.”
New Career Skills retrains people for careers as electricians, plumbers and in renewable energy. Antony decided not to become an electrician like his father; having a previous interest and experience in plumbing.
He explained: “I was better at plumbing than electrics. I’ve done all the plumbing around my own house, so it was an obvious option. Having done a course himself, dad was able to offer me a lot of support. He helped me out with any electric bits I needed to know, but with the plumbing, I had to get on and stick my head in the text books for myself!”
Antony now owns and operates his own business, AJC Plumbing, and says that the reality of being his own boss is a great improvement to his previous employment.
“Working is so much better now, I don’t have to answer to anybody else. Selling life insurance in telesales was just cold calling people; now people call me!”
And the father-son pair now work in tandem, with Antony assisting on any jobs that Nigel’s Blue Lightning Electrical Ltd company need help with.
“We help each other out, if he’s on a job and there needs some plumbing work doing, he’ll call me and i’ll go over there. We live in the same area, so if there’s any local jobs and I need his help, he’s just down the road. We’ve always had a good relationship, so it was an easy decision to do work together. I used to help him out in his house anyway, but now I get paid to do what he tells me, as opposed to when I was younger!”
On reflection on re-training with New Career Skills, Antony was grateful for the amount of support and resources made available to him, with help being offered even after the completion of his course.
“They’re very helpful, I’ve even called them for a quick bit of advice whilst out on a job and they’ve helped. The support isn’t just when you’re there training, they help you even after you’ve finished. I’m so glad to have done it, and I definitely recommend it to others. Work is a bit more challenging now; but it’s so much more rewarding.”
To find out more about the industry, the plumbing courses, New Career Skills and to get your questions answered, please Request An Information Pack
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