Rigging – the facts of life

I have worked for Omega Solutions Group for three years. It is a well-established company that provides services to the telecommunications industry. We operate at various levels; from providing manpower to offering turnkey solutions for wide area networks usually to the local government sector. We are actively involved in a variety of different roles throughout the UK and Ireland. The diversity of work available within the industry ensures that there is never a dull moment and, on the odd occasion that I’m not enjoying the task in hand, it won’t be long before a new challenge presents itself.

Now I’ve spent a few years working in the industry it has become obvious that the opportunities for career progression and personnel development are almost endless. ‘Telecoms’ covers a wide range of jobs, roles and opportunities.

My first experience of the industry was in a rigging role. I was working for O2 conducting optimization. This basically involves visiting mobile sites to carry out an audit. I would be asked to report on the bearings, tilts and types of the antennas; we would also test the continuity of the feeders and the antennas themselves. The report would be given to a planner who would inform us of changes they wanted to optimize the coverage of that particular site. We would make the alterations; the end result of this would mean the site should generate more revenue. I really enjoyed this as most of the work was in London in the summer. I’d get given my work for the day and then it was up to me to manage it. It’s about as close I’ve come to being my own boss without the worries of running a company.

Opportunities in this industry really are endless. Once you have a route in, rigging in my case, the doors begin to open. I have friends who work in the industry in roles such as drive testing, planning, satellite up-linking, project management and rigging. The best route in is rigging for someone with no experience. Once you have the necessary safety qualifications it relatively easy to get work in an apprentice-type role working as a rigger’s mate. It isn’t long before you’ve covered a variety of tasks and you get given more and more responsibility.

In the three years that I’ve worked in the industry I’ve gone from being completely clueless about what an antenna is to working as a project manager. It is only by showing competence and willing on the ground that I have gone to increased responsibility in an office environment. It’s easy when you’re working in the field to overlook the amount of work involved behind the scenes in terms of planning, co-ordination and logistics. Having good teams on the ground is just as important. It’s a combination of organisation, hard work and willingness to go that extra mile that will give individuals and companies the ability to have longevity and versatility within the industry. Make a good name for yourself, work hard and rest will come naturally.

Omega Solutions Group is run by Danny Malik, managing director, who was a Corporal signals specialist in the Royal Marines and Pete Rodriguez, Operations Director, an ex-Staff Sergeant in the Royal Signals

Malik resettled with a CP course and then set up an antiques shop in West Sussex. ‘Probably one of the worse things I could have done but I learnt some very valuable lessons. In the Forces we are used to getting our pay packets regularly every month, not self-employment where things can be very slow (especially the antiques world.) When you have a job it always seems easier to find another one. Keep your money coming in. After I finished with the antiques shop I gained a job selling pharmaceuticals to doctors. I left this after 18 months to go into communications.

‘This is my second company in the telecommunications industry. A former RM and colleague won a lot of work when the 3 network was being built. He knew I was very keen on climbing and asked if I would climb the communication towers and pylons to conduct surveys.

‘When I first left the Forces I discovered that networking with former colleagues is everything. I have had a number of extremely well paid jobs through networking. Give yourself time. You’re not going to settle straight into civilian life in a week, so give yourself a year to find your feet.’