GoFibre Staff Spotlight: Ollie Smith, Project Delivery Manager, Scottish Borders

In our first staff spotlight, we caught up with Ollie who is part of the Delivery team operating in the Scottish Borders.

Tell us a bit about your job, Ollie.
I joined GoFibre two years ago as an engineer. My job is to build a fibre network to allow us to connect customers. We work alongside contractors, putting cable in the ground and joining the nodes so we can deliver to customers. I am part of a team who is responsible for planning, project control and reporting, as well as making sure we meet, or exceed, expectations and that projects run as smoothly as possible.

What attracted you to GoFibre?
I left school with one Higher and worked as an apprentice plumber, before going to New Zealand to play rugby. I then came home and was looking to establish a career. Being from Duns, it is important to me to stay in my local area, but it can be difficult to get a good job here.

I started with GoFibre as an engineer, and was promoted quickly to supervisor, and then a junior delivery manager before my current position. They have provided me with a lot of training and support to get me to where I am today so I made a good choice.

What is the best thing about your job?
The best part is the satisfaction of knowing you are giving people a better service. It is fast-paced and things change quickly but I enjoy the challenge. Some of the rural work has been hard going. Because I grew up here, I understand what it is like to have a bad broadband connection, so it feels good to know you are part of changing that. This is the best job I have ever had and that’s down to the support on offer.

What would you say to someone considering a career with GoFibre?
Go for it because they really give their people an opportunity to succeed. I didn’t have loads of experience or qualifications on paper, but they supported me to work my way up and build a career. The pay is above average for the area too and they’ve provided many jobs to local people like me – most of the engineers are from here.

I have just had twin daughters, Charlotte and Evie. They are four weeks old so life has changed a lot for me. Having a stable job and good career is really important to me so I can support them. My family and my partner’s family are both in Duns, so we have that family support around us and community feel. GoFibre has been flexible too since their birth, allowing me to work a couple of days a week from home.