Nationwide Platforms recognises long-serving employees

Nationwide Platforms, the UK’s largest powered access rental company, has celebrated its longest serving employees at the its 2023 Employee Awards event.

Among the celebrated employees were site survey administrator Allison Hull from Dewsbury, mobile engineer Vincent Young from Hampshire, and regional HSE manager Chris Blakeley from Batley, who have over six decades of experience between them at Nationwide Platforms.

Allison Hull

Originally starting her career in 2001 with a year as a hire desk controller at the powered access provider’s Hemel Hempstead depot, Allison Hull, age 46, has since racked up 21 years with Nationwide Platforms.

“I’ve been able to climb the ranks in the company and explore a variety of roles,” says Allison. “I soon switched to work as an operations controller, and after many years in that role I now work as a Site Survey Administrator.

“The opportunities for developing your skillset and pursuing a range of roles to find the one that suits you best are endless.

“I really enjoy my job. The people at Nationwide Platforms make all the difference. We’re one big team, and I’ve always felt able to count on others to support me as I support them in our work.

“There have been many wonderful projects over my 21 years here. For example, I was lucky enough to be involved in the supply of specialist vehicles to the Harry Potter film franchise, the London Olympics, and the Royal Wedding of William and Kate, to name but a few!”

Vince Young

Allison’s fellow long server, Vince Young, now has 16 years as a mobile engineer under his belt. The 57-year-old, from Andover in Hampshire, originally began work at the Andover depot, before moving on to work at the Southampton depot.

“My role is to travel around customer sites, attend to any breakdowns, perform cap inspections, and a lot more,” says Vince. “I’m kept busy, and I’m constantly on the move, interacting with people, and travelling the country. Nationwide Platforms are dedicated to ensuring their hired machines run as smoothly as possible, wherever they might be on hire, and it’s the mobile engineers like me that make sure that’s the case!

“I love travelling around the local area, and meeting customers just makes the job that much more worthwhile. I’m definitely a people person, and being able to chat to our customers and ensure they are properly attended to when they have an issue is something I am proud to do and enjoy very much.”

Chris Blakeley

Another recipient of the long server award is regional HSE manager Chris Blakeley from Batley in Leeds, whose career at Nationwide Platforms spans 26 years.

Covering the regions of Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands, Chris, age 59, is responsible for visiting local depots and engaging with the staff there to attend to any HSE issues flagged up. In addition, Chris is the administrator for Nationwide Platform’s internal auditing system, AuditForm and for the COSHH database SYPOL CMs.

He said, “I started with Nationwide Platforms 25 years ago as an operator for truck mounts up to heights of 50m. I was then an IPAF training instructor for eight years, before finding out that my passion lay with health and safety, in which I have worked for the past 13 years.

“The people at Nationwide Platforms make this company a special place to work. Everyone is friendly, helpful and approachable, so I really enjoy visiting the different depots to meet everyone and provide help and support.

“During my time here, as well as gaining immense amounts of experience in operations, health and safety, and transport, I’ve also gained vital insight into how a multinational business works and how the different job genres work and fit in within such a large organisation.

“I’ve developed here as an employee and a person and I’d certainly encourage anyone interested in a career with Nationwide Platforms to apply for a role here!”