Meet the Team- Simon Morris
Position: Workshop Supervisor
Likes: Karate
Dislikes: Cheese
How long have you been working with BAW? Since 1990, I started as an apprentice.
What’s your favourite thing about working here? The family atmosphere!
How did you get to the position you’re in now? Well I started as an apprentice then an opportunity came up. It wasn’t so much my role now, it was a bit of a lesser role to attend a part time role and help Andrew as a part time supervisor and over time it became more of a full time role. I did my HMC when I was an apprentice then I went back to do my HND for an extra year. Then when this came up I approached Andrew Snell, and there were courses going for postgraduate diplomas in Business Management.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to work in this industry? You know we work hard and are dedicated, it’s the normal things- you work hard for something and you will get it. That’s what I would say. And just be yourself!
Has there been any work you have done that sticks out to you? We do a lot of nice work. We’ve recently done a few large assemblies and they look nice at the end of it. You know it is nice to see at the end of the day, you see it all finished and you think ‘yeah, we contributed to that.’ There was a bit of a tighter timeframe as well, lead times on the job to get it out.
How would your colleagues describe you? Well I hope they’d describe me as being fair. Yeah, and honest. Which I try to be here… and even handed? That’s all I’m gonna ask for!
How has the industry changed since you first started? It’s become a lot more competitive. When I first started as an apprentice, there was an abundance of work you could be working on. Those days are gone now, people aren’t holding stock any more, rationing has taken place, they’ve ordered to suit. The market is becoming so competitive.
How do you see the industry changing in the next 10 years? I can see it carrying on with this competitiveness, and spending going up in the next 4-5 years maybe. We don’t have as much of a problem, everything we do is bespoke, small batch, it’s a limited specification.