In this post, we have an interview with Phil Spencer who retired from End Systems in December 2022 after over 40 years with the company.
If you prefer, you can hear the words from Phil himself here!
Introduction to yourself & how you started at the company
I came to End Systems in February 1981 for an interview with Brian Townsend for the position of Assistant Commissioning Engineer and was offered the position, however, I refused it and said I wasn’t interested in doing the work because I wanted to further my education.
Brian rang me the following day and told me that he’d found me a position in the office as assistant to the Managing Director, which I took up and never looked back!
42 years later, we’ve been through three or four changes in address, I’ve had the fortune of working with lots of different people., finally retiring on Friday 23rd December 2022.
What’s changed about the industry since you started?
There’s a dramatic change in the health and safety across the whole industry. We used to encounter injuries, deaths, etc, throughout the construction industry, and the improvement in health and safety has made it a much safer place to work. It’s still a tough industry at times, but ultimately, I love the industry, I’m glad I’ve been in it for so long and I wouldn’t have liked to have been in any other.
What are your hopes for the future of the industry?
The future hopes for the industry is the continuation of innovative ideas and safe places to work, if and when we do continue moving down that route, it will improve the industry phenomenally.
What advice would you give to people starting out?
What advice would I give? Well, I started here with little or no knowledge of the industry, but just by grinding it out, I worked through it, working hard under the influence and guidance of Brian.
I managed to progress to Estimator, Senior Estimator, Cost Manager, Commercial Manager, and then ultimately Commercial Director. So it just shows that if you keep driving in the right direction and you’re doing the right things, that there’s an opportunity there for everybody to enhance the capability within a business.
What’s are you most proud of from your time here?
Personally, it’s my promotion from within. I’m very proud of working for End Systems, who offer quality service throughout, and I believe that we are the best in the land and I’m truly proud of having that badge on my chest.
What will you miss the most?
I’ll miss the people most. Obviously, I’ve dealt with a lot of different clients in my time, so I’ll miss the contacts I have made in my 42 years, however, it’s the End System staff who I saw day in, day out that I’ll miss most, and in particular, Kay, Andy and Dale.
What are your plans now?
Plenty of exercise, golf, a part time job at the driving range, relaxing, and included in that will be going on plenty of holidays. It’s a big change, a massive change. But I’m ready, I’ve done my bit and I’m ready to pack my bags and start off on my new chapter in life.
Thank you.