Jack thrives as waste remediation projects provide opportunity to shine16th Sep 2022

Variety is considered the spice of life – and plant operator Jack Allen certainly enjoys the diversity of his job working on landfill construction projects for Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK.

Jack, who hails from Chesterfield, has been with North Wales-based Jones Bros for eight years since joining as a plant operative apprentice.

The 26-year-old has been working on landfill construction projects in places such as Huntingdon, Lincoln, Sutton Courtenay, and most recently, the Isle of Sheppey, prior to heading to King’s Lynn.

Every waste management job brings not only a geographical change, but also the opportunity to undertake a variety of tasks including large earthworks, HDPE pipe welding, and installation of geosynthetics liners.

Jack said: “I’ve always been a manual work kind of lad, who wants to move about and do a different variety of tasks, and there’s certainly plenty of that in this line of work.

“We have recently finished a temporary capping project in Huntingdon, Cambridge before we headed to Lincoln to help with geosynthetics installation on another project.

“After that it was Oxford for two or three months to work on a new cell construction project, before a small team of us went to do a surface water project on the Isle of Sheppey.

“The latest job is at Blackborough End in King’s Lynn where we will be carrying out a landfill capping project.”

Jack has his sights on the Site Manager Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) qualification after completing the Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) course with a goal of progressing through the ranks.

The cell construction projects in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, handed Jack an opportunity to try his hand at supervising a team on a section.

He said: “I started in the industry through an agency at 18 and then within a couple of months I was on the plant op apprenticeship scheme with Jones Bros.

“Jones Bros really is a great company for progression and providing the experience and training to expand your skillset.”

During his period as supervisor at Sutton Courtenay, Jack continued: “It was an enjoyable exercise to get involved in the onsite health and safety checks, the logistics of who is doing what work and when, as well as getting involved in the daily briefing.

“Hopefully, I will be able to do more and more supervising work at Jones Bros as time goes by.”

Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.

The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.

The company runs an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which has produced nearly 50 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited more than 100 apprentices during the past three years.