Engineering at Vodafone UK | Hear from our People – Nina

I have been a Field Services Manager for over 12 years, currently working in Devon, Cornwall and South Bristol supporting the engineers who install and maintain our Fixed & Mobile Networks and deliver enterprise services to our customers. It’s an amazingly interesting and diverse role, with no two days the same.

I never anticipated that my career would be in Telecoms as I had studied Architecture and Town Planning at University but graduated at the height of the recession in the mid – 1990’s and took a part time job at Birmingham Cable in the evening triaging engineering jobs.

I picked things up quite quickly and was offered the opportunity of a secondment into the NOC working alongside some really knowledgeable and experienced site-based engineers. People could see that I was genuinely interested in Technology, and I was extremely fortunate that that passion came through in my day-to-day work. So much so, that a trainee engineer role was created for me.

On reflection, the opportunities that followed to progress into management, have led me to where I am today, having spent 13 years as a NOC Manager in Cable & Wireless and then another 12 in Vodafone as a Field Services Manager.

The future is looking really exciting. I am currently supporting some key projects in the Mobile networks arena, including the London Underground Base Station build to provide 4G & 5G coverage across major underground stations and we are also working hard with our Future Talent Team and local colleges to attract new talent through our Apprenticeship scheme into Field based roles.

I hope that anyone who might be considering a career in our industry does not believe that they need to have followed a specific educational or vocational pathway. Great people is absolutely the key to the success of our business.