Hear from our wonderful new members to our ABL family…
Shiani Jhurry – Joined August 2021
(Quality Control Technician)
About You:
Q:Job Title, Start Date, Previous background i.e. engineering, other etc.
A: I joined ABL in August 2021, previously I worked in Psychiatry for 4 years and was working in nurseries prior to this. Nursery role enabled good balance with work and home-life, then moved to Psychiatry but became burnt out.
Darren Fay actually recommended the role to me, as I wanted to do a role that gave me job satisfaction and good work/life balance so the role with ABL ticked all the boxes.
I have no quality or engineering experience but they didn’t mind this and I was given lot of support at the beginning, was really thrown in at deep end, but everyone was really supportive and knew my lack of knowledge.
Q: What was your first impression of the company when you joined?
A: Didn’t know what to expect, came in open minded, no comparison
Q: What have you learnt since joining ABL, professionally and personally?
A: I have been in Quality with ABL for 1 year and now and my manager saw my potential and wanted me to be more challenged and expand my knowledge, so I am now learning more of the Quality Assurance side and the manual side of inspection and quality, so I am being trained by a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer.
Coming from a different industry, it has been eye opening and incredible to work with such an amazing and supportive team. I am communicating with different departments like Assembly and speaking with engineers over quality matters, it is amazing to not be stuck in one role, in one role- I am getting to hear and see different departments ways of working and exposure to the full process,
I am encouraged to problem solve and whenever I have asked for help I have been supported and not made to feel silly.
Q: What worked well for you joining ABL with no engineering background?
A: It was good to start within quality, it gave me idea of what was the ideal product outcome and exactly what ABL wants to achieve. I learnt the role alongside supportive training and working, not just one or the other.
ABL Culture:
Q: What makes ABL a good place to work?
A: When I first joined, myself and my family were impacted by Covid-19, but I was completely supported. There was understanding from Day 1 in my role as a parent and complete mutual respect and always good and clear communication of what is expected of me.
Q: How do we compare against other engineering companies?
A: As above really- The mutual respect between my employer and employee needs is considered. Family and work-balance was key for me and was listened to.
Q: How would you describe the culture here at ABL?
A: There is a diverse culture, in terms of age range, knowledge and experience shared between people and people from different backgrounds. You don’t feel ever stupid for asking a question to anyone. Overall it is diverse and fun!
I went from an employer with a female dominated workforce, to now a male dominated workforce and it has been a total shift, but I am incredibly enjoying it! It is refreshing and everyone works hard but has a laugh!
One thing for me that I saw when I joined, is that the teams work in tandem, we all work as one, which is great.
Q: What has been a best highlight for you since being with ABL?
A: The surprise little gifts we receive- like the Christmas hamper, water bottles and bottle of drink and Ice Cream van that was organised for us in the middle of summer!