Meet our newest members of the Direct Air team

27-year-old Nemo is Direct Air’s new Project Engineer. He’s made a great extension to our projects department after joining in October. One-way Nemo fitted right into the requirements of his role, was with his impressive MSc Mechanical Engineering Degree.

Josh is 31 years old and joined the team in the beginning of November in his Health & Safety Management role at Direct Air. With over 10 years previous experience in health and safety, Josh’s in-depth knowledge is invaluable.

Gavin, 24, joined alongside Josh in November. Gavin is a Trainee Pipework Engineer. Adding to the ever-growing department of our very own Direct Air engineers. Gavin decided it was time to start a new career path and take on something involving hands-on work, which his new role satisfies perfectly.

The interview process was new for both the Direct Air team and the interviewees, being conducted virtually. It was the first time all the new recruits had undergone an interview in this format.

Nemo’s explained how his experience was made really easy by Direct Air as all information needed for the call was provided. Nemo felt he was never left in the dark during any stage because he was being kept up to date via either calls or emails. Nemo was also able to visit the office in order to familiarise himself with the environment he’d be working in, as well as some of his co-workers (socially distanced of course!).

Once Josh completed his virtual interview, things moved quickly and before he knew it he was invited to safely visit them in person at the office. Josh explained this made the process feel a little more like normal… apart from masks, hand sanitiser and resisting the urge to shake people’s hands! This was when Josh got given his first introduction to the world of compressed air. The knowledge and experience at Direct Air was evident to Josh right away, and he was impressed by how many places utilise compressed air.

Gavin actually found and applied for his role via LinkedIn. Following a successful interview, he attended a trial day. Gavin found this opportunity valuable because he was able to understand all aspects of the role he was applying for. He could also understand how well Direct Air have adjusted to COVID restrictions within the workplace. Gavin was grateful that Direct Air were so accommodating to his new learning rather than feeling as though he’d been thrown in the deep end.

Nemo found starting a new role during these difficult times could present challenges. Yet, the team at Direct Air went above and beyond to help with settling in whilst maintaining social distancing guidelines. Safety of the employees gets taken very seriously and many people work from home, including Nemo himself. Since securing a graduate role, Nemo believes his knowledge and skills have already increased. ‘There is new learning every day – the pandemic isn’t stopping my progression!’

Josh spent the first week of his new job role with the Direct Air engineers, seeing what they get up to on a day-to-day basis. He had many questions to ask as he wanted to ensure he understood all the processes, which his colleagues were more than happy to answer. This first week was crucial, as Josh got to see first-hand the safety measures that the guys must go through from start to finish. Including how they travel to jobs and carry out site inductions, as well as the simpler yet critical tasks, like hand-washing and mask wearing. Josh thought it was great to see how the department had adjusted their practices to fit the current climate. Following this , Josh became based in the offices, where once again everyone was really welcoming. Due to several staff members still working from home, it took slightly longer than normal for Josh to meet all his colleagues. But slowly and surely, he’s getting to know everyone at Direct Air. And during the short time that Josh has been with Direct Air, he has helped get renewals for both ISO45001 and ISO14001.

Gavin’s first week was spent helping the Stores around the warehouse putting away and locating stock in preparation for jobs. This was a great way for Gavin to familiarise himself with products, parts, materials and tools he’ll soon be using every day. It wasn’t long before Gavin was getting stuck into the hands-on work he longed for. During his second week he was out visiting customer sites with the service engineers! The engineers and Gavin were all provided with separate vehicles to travel to and from locations, to maintain safety as much as possible. Throughout the entire process, Gavin felt confident he could query his colleagues with any concerns.

Nemo is excited to experience on-site visits with colleagues that are yet to come. He hopes to learn from the Direct Air team who have worked at the company for many years, as their experience and knowledge is invaluable.

Josh is most looking forward to getting to know the whole team better, seeing how the company operates under normal circumstances, and where he can best benefit the company. Josh feels he still has a lot to learn about the company and the compressed air industry and is excited to see what the future holds.

Gavin can’t wait to create more connections with his co-workers. Especailly with colleagues who he doesn’t work alongside daily but have knowledge about his work. Gavin wants to do this in the hope of understand how processes of the business work from beginning to end, to ensure his work is to the best of his ability.