Richard
Trench

What encouraged you or convinced you to join this industry?
I have always had an interest in all things mechanical and a particular interest in machinery and how they work. Having started my career as a fitter in Ireland in the agriculture and construction machinery sector, when the opportunity arose to interview for Hitachi I grabbed it as the chance to work with a market leading OEM – this isn’t something that comes along every day.

What role did you start out in and has it proven to be a good place to begin your career at Hitachi?
I started my career as a Field Service Fitter, moved up to Leading Hand, then Supervisor. Following that I became Project Manager, then Site Manager and now Service Manager.
Starting out as a field service fitter gave me a good foundation to build my career on at Hitachi by introducing me to company systems, processes and the people within the business. Upon joining Hitachi, I quickly realised that this was where I wanted to be and where I wanted to progress my career. However, in those early stages, it also became apparent to me that in order to further my career at the pace I wanted to, I would need to upskill. For this reason, I enrolled in a number of academic courses over the years and Hitachi have sponsored and facilitated some of these.
My studies coupled with on the job coaching, training and mentoring has helped me to advance to my current role. In each role, I have been able to familiarise myself with the next level. Doing so has prepared me for when opportunities arise, that I have a good understanding of the role and have been able to transition seamlessly.