Francois Ras

Health and Safety Training Manager, Doncaster

Personal profile

  • Age: 32
  • Occupation:  Health and Safety Training Manager
  • Employer: Kuehne + Nagel
  • Location:  Doncaster
  • Education: 5 A Levels in Maths, English, Accountancy, Business Economics and Science

When I left school I went to university to study law. I found that law was not for me and started looking around to see what other possibilities were out there. In the meantime I got a temporary job with an agency as an Order Picker working for Kuehne + Nagel in 2003. I quickly found that picking was not the job for me but I discovered that logistics is an exciting industry and that there was a lot that I could learn.

I started asking all sorts of questions of the managers that I worked with and I took as many work related courses as I could. My diligence and hard work paid off when I secured a permanent position as a Warehouse Operative. I was then on the career ladder in earnest and on the way up to bigger and better things.

My career took a turn when I was offered the position of Health and Safety Coordinator. During this period I also became involved in training. Then the position of Health and Safety Training Manager became available, I applied for it and was successful in my application. Now I am responsible for the safety and training of over 500 people.

Logistics is a vast industry that affects every part of our lives. From the products on the shelves at the supermarket to the books you order from Amazon. It employs thousands of people from: lorry drivers to ships’ captains; IT specialists to logistics planners and hundreds of other jobs. Logistics makes our modern way of life possible because without it there would be no strawberries in winter or products on the shelves for us to buy. Logistics is the life blood of any economy and no country can prosper without it. It is exciting, frustrating, challenging and rewarding all at the same time.

I’m 32 years old and have been in the logistics industry for 9 years.  In that time I’ve never had a dull moment and I plan to keep on doing it for as long as I can.

Bookmark and Share