Linda Field is the New Build and Social Housing Manager at Qvantum Energy Technology. To mark Women in Engineering Day on 23 June, she tells us why her current role is like a breath of fresh air…
How did you get into the heat pump/renewables industry?
I had been in sales roles within the plumbing and heating industry for several years, working for companies such as Porcelanosa, Vaillant and Baxi. When my children were younger, I took a role managing 12 holiday cottages for my husband, to enable me to be closer to home. This was not a full-time role and I missed being in the industry and so I took a part-time position assisting the director of a small biomass boiler company based in Northumberland, close to where I live. Initially, I was supporting with the many trade shows that the company attended but I found that over time my days increased, along with my responsibilities. By this time my children had grown up and we sold the holiday cottages, giving me the opportunity of a full-time sales role with the biomass company, which I loved. From then onwards, I have always been involved with heating in one form or another, but renewables and providing a suitable solution to customers has always been my driving force.
What was your first job?
My first job was as a beautician/aerobics teacher (showing my age!) at a health centre. I loved this role, I was 18, straight out of college, with money in my pocket and finding freedom. I have always said that this was what set me on the path into sales. I had to build up a customer base as there were other beauticians that the customers could choose and other aerobic classes they could attend. I had to ensure that they chose me by providing a great service and customer experience. This role taught me a lot. The centre was open seven days a week, from 7am-10pm, so the hours were long and sometimes anti-social, but I learnt how to work with people and how to build relationships; skills that I still use today.
What does your current job involve?
My role at Qvantum is like a breath of fresh air! It’s so nice to work with great people and innovative products that I believe in. The company is relatively new to the UK and so my role here is evolving each week, but the thing I like the most is that I am building brand awareness and a customer base, and no two days are ever the same.
I head up the New Build and Social Housing team, an area in the heating industry that I have worked in for many years. It is great to be working with customers I have known for a while, whilst also targeting new customers. There is so much to do, but Qvantum products are easy to talk about, as they are different from other heat pumps, and so customers are interested in how they can benefit from the range and find solutions that previously haven’t been available to them.
What do you see the challenges are facing the industry?
The uptake of heat pumps has been slow due to the uncertainty of Future Homes Standard, something that is still ongoing. This makes life hard for house builders and developers. The spark gap is also a concern for the end users, buying a new home with a heat pump is likely to cost the end user more than a home with a traditional gas boiler.
The other problem that the industry is facing is the lack of younger tradespeople. Apprenticeships are not readily available or supported and so the knowledge is not being passed down to the younger generation and the industry is not being made attractive to younger people looking for career opportunities.
Do you have any mentors or anyone in particular who inspired you?
My Dad was a great inspiration to me, but I don’t think I realised this until recently. I lost my Dad when I was in my 30s, and he unfortunately has missed some of the great milestones in my life. He was a salesman, back in the day when you wrote to customers and sent your weekly sales reports by post to your manager! No mobile phones or emails in his day, and I often wonder how he did his job, as it would have been so different from how we work today. He always encouraged me to be the best I could be. I would spend hours with him in his workshop doing woodwork, experiments and mending things. I think this is one of the reasons I wanted to be involved in the construction industry. One expression he used a lot, which comes back to me on a regular basis, was “The saddest words are ‘I have regrets’”.
What would you say to other women who are thinking of coming into the heat pump industry?
Go for it! The industry has changed a lot. When I started selling heating and plumbing products, I was one of only a few women, and it was hard sometimes to be taken seriously, but now the industry is full of inspiring women.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Most of my time out of work is taken up by family, my husband and I have six children between us and seven grandchildren (with another one on the way!), and so I love to spend time with them. I also enjoy spending time with my girlfriends and having friends over for dinner, as I like to cook. We are also building a house… when I say we, I mean my husband! I also like to walk my dog, not as far as we used to, though, as she is now nearly 14.
