When we’re dealing with a gas emergency, we need our engineers to keep a cool head, meticulously follow their training, and quickly make the right decisions to keep our customers safe.
 
Essential attributes that are also required of a good soldier, and probably why Jack Gaffikin has found it easy to transition from life in the Army to his new career working with Cadent.
 
After six years in the Royal Signals, including a number of operational tours of duty, Jack decided it was the right time to leave the Army – and discovered Cadent’s apprenticeship scheme.
 
He completed that and is now part of our own ‘army’ of emergency gas engineers.
 
“In terms of lifestyle, timing, and the fact that the job was based out of Blackpool – where I’m from – it was almost as if it was just meant to be,” said Jack, 25.
 
“There is mindset in the military and I think it will be reassuring for people serving now to know that there really is a life after it.
 
“This is a self-sufficient job – I’ve got my own van, I am out on the road every day, and no two jobs are the same.
 
“You get your quiet days, but there are also days when it’s very busy and you might be involved in a big incident where your skills are needed to protect people’s lives and properties.”
 
None more so than a recent incident when a car smashed into a bollard and damaged a gas pipe.
 
Jack was the emergency engineer dispatched to the scene.
 
“The gas had got into a house and the cellar was just full of gas. I had to evacuate the family living in the house and then help make everything safe,” explained Jack. 
 
This is one of a series of posts today about the serving and former armed forces personnel in our ‘ranks’ here at Cadent. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and we’re celebrating the official launch yesterday of our new Cadent Military Group.