Next up in the Repair & Maintenance Player Profiles series, we have our Mechanical Installation Engineer Raf Migdal. Raf joined WES back in 2017 as a workshop technician and has recently joined the WES career development pathway to advance his skills.

Read more in our latest Repair and Maintenance player profile below.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Rafal Migdal – I joined WES in 2017. I live in Basingstoke although I’m originally from a town called Bielsko-Biała in the south of Poland. I have two younger siblings – my sister lives in Ireland and my brother lives in Poland with our Mum.

I moved to the UK in 2015 with the plan to open a “Calisthenics” gym in Basingstoke with a colleague. For the next two years, I worked as a coded welder in the construction industry until 2017 when we finally opened our gym. At the same time, I started my full-time job in WES as a workshop technician whilst coaching Calisthenics in the evenings. My love of mountains and sport means I spend much of my free time hiking, MTB cycling or training in the gym. 

What is your role in the WES R&M team?

Having learned about the WES products & manufacturing techniques and having become proficient at most skills & capabilities required of a workshop technician with WES, I have recently been given the opportunity to commence a role as a mechanical installation engineer. This involves much more “site” work, including the installation of products & kit that I have built in our workshop.

I enjoy the variety that field work brings – every day is different and the demands on my skills & expertise are certainly challenging! I often work as part of a team with other WES field colleagues, but sometimes I work “solo” if the scope of the job requires it. This brings additional responsibility, which I relish.

What do you enjoy most about working at WES?

What I enjoy most about working at WES is the relationships I’ve made over the years with my coworkers. Secondly, I enjoy the actual work that I do, it helps me grow personally and professionally. It’s a great place to work with a lot of opportunities and an energising culture.

I have recently earned the opportunity to join the WES career development pathway. This will allow me to further develop skills & expertise and sets out a clear & defined career path that forms part of the wider WES succession plan. I hope in time to move into a supervisory or management role.

What does a typical day look like for you?

For me as a mechanical installation engineer every day could be different. I spend most of my time on site performing installations, repairs and modifications on customers’ equipment – often in various locations all over UK. However sometimes I’m in the workshop to fabricate or build new units for further installation or hire. As well as training new engineers within our team, helping them solve problems, and giving advice if necessary.