Duo building brighter futures in Wigan after changing careers

Wayne MCleod, 49, spent more than 20 years working in warehousing, before switching to a career in construction site management.

He is now assistant site manager at home builder Redrow’s Bridgewater View development in Mosley Common.

He said: “Looking back, I only wish I’d done it sooner. I love working on site and being outdoors and I love meeting and chatting to Redrow customers and providing a high level of customer care.

“I’ve never missed a day’s work at Redrow. I even enjoy my commute as I love coming to work every day.”

Wayne, from Preston, decided to change careers a couple of years ago and obtained his forklift licence, before being placed on a Redrow development through an agency.

He started as a forklift driver, before being appointed as assistant site manager and completing NVQ level four in site supervision.

Wayne has also just completed mental health first aider training and requested to attend a managing safely course, which Redrow funded.

He said: “I guess at school I was classed as a ‘bad kid’ but I was never shown that success could be achieved in a career like this. I left school with two exam passes – in maths and English. I felt for many years like I was in the wilderness in warehouses – now I have my dream job!”

His ambition is to become a qualified site manager.

He added: “I was paid the biggest compliment recently when I asked my 16-year-old stepdaughter what she’d like to do when she left school and she said she might like to drive forklift trucks on building sites.”

Redrow colleague Michael Deegan, 44, changed from a career in sales to construction.

For almost seven years he sold Redrow’s homes and he is now building them, after leaving his role as a sales consultant to become a trainee site assistant.

Dad-of-two Michael, from Marple, felt the switch would give him more scope for a better work-life balance and working on site appealed to him.

He said: “I’d been in sales for a while and felt like I’d achieved a lot, including winning sales consultant of the year. I enjoyed it but I was looking for a new challenge.

“The Covid pandemic and being on furlough for around two months gave me time to reassess and think about what I really wanted from my career.

“I knew wanted to stay within Redrow as I know what a great company it is to work for and they’ve always really looked after me and made me feel like a valued member of the team.

“I’d done my management training and at my annual review I decided to raise the prospect of moving into construction. I’d always enjoyed being out on site, checking plots and customer choices, so it felt like a natural move.

Michael has only been working at Bridgewater View for three weeks and has already started NHBC-approved training for an NVQ level four in site supervision.

He added: “I feel good every day coming into work. Already it feels like a good move, I’ve no regrets and hopefully I’ll have a long career ahead and one day become a site manager.”

Claire Jarvis, managing director for Redrow (Lancashire), said: “We often focus on attracting school and university leavers into construction careers, but Wayne and Michael have proved that you can begin a successful and enjoyable career in our industry at any age. They are hugely valued members of the team and a real asset to the Lancashire division. Bringing experience from other sectors means we have a mix of skills and approaches on site, which makes for a really strong team.”

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