FACE TO FACE
WWW.EXPORTANDFREIGHT.COM
PETER O’REILLY
CEO, TRANSPORT TRAINING SERVICES (N.I.) LIMITED Peter O’Reilly is a prime example of what can be achieved from a career using an apprenticeship pathway. Peter started his career as a heavy vehicle apprentice at Belfast City Council via the government agency, the Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB), which was replaced by the Transport Training Board for Northern Ireland (TTB) in the early 90s. Since then he has enjoyed a successful and dynamic career in the private motor trade and public sector. After his four year apprenticeship followed by a short stint at Citybus, Peter moved to the motor trade, first in service administration with Coulters on the Antrim Road and then at Knockdene on the Upper Newtownards Road (now TrustFord). However, he had secretly been applying for the fire service and got the letter to say he started as a ‘fireman’, as it was called in those days, on the 20th March 1990. Because this was something he’d always dreamed of doing, even being offered a Sierra Cosworth wasn’t enough to make him stay at Ford! Peter then spent 21 years progressing through the Northern Ireland Fire Service throughout some of the most challenging times in Belfast, attending or overseeing almost everything fire related during the height of ‘the troubles’. After 11 years on the fire engines he moved through the ranks, ultimately working as an area commander. In 2011 Peter and his family relocated and he took up the position of director of prevention and detection in Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service until he became Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive of Greater Manchester in April 2015, a time in his career that he describes as “phenomenal”.
What are your standout memories of being an apprentice? There are loads – some repeatable and some not! I think going into the Belfast City Council Vehicle Maintenance Garage in Duncrue Street on the first day is a standout. I very quickly got settled into the culture of that environment as an apprentice and what it was like to deal with a journeyman - the old ‘bucket of blue steam’ and ‘swinging hooks’ and everything else. And the camaraderie that was built up during that time, particularly playing football with some of those guys, was all great banter. Some of them ended up as Groomsmen and the Best Man at my wedding. Some great memories…feels like yesterday.
What attracted you to the role at TTS? I’d always planned to retire from the fire
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service at the end of my service period which was 6th February 2018 so I took my time out from fire, reflected, and did some things I’ve always wanted to do like renovating a little cottage. It was just one of those serendipity things when an advert came up for TTS, right back where I started, and I wanted to go back to see what I could do there. I thought I’d be going to a job that didn’t have the same action as I was in before but little did I know a health pandemic ‘lockdown’ was waiting for me the week I started!
Prior to joining TTS what is your biggest career highlight? The most rewarding thing I’ve ever achieved in my career was the first time I rescued somebody from a fire and they lived. The most rewarding thing you’ll ever get from a career in the fire service is when you know someone has survived. It was very shortly into my career and because it was the first time it’s probably the most memorable thing. But I’d say my greatest achievement was on 15th September 2015 when every fire engine and every fire fighter in Greater Manchester started responding to cardiac arrest incidents. That, to this day, is probably seen as one of the greatest innovations in the British Fire Service ever.
What do you hope to achieve as CEO of TTS? I want TTS (NI) Ltd to be known throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland as the most innovative, dynamic and supportive automotive, transport and logistics training organisation. I believe that the will exists within the Transport Training Board and the senior management team. I also believe that the ambition and capability resides within the wider team to expand to all parts of Northern Ireland and beyond. In conjunction with the TTB board I’ve developed a strategy document that outlines our plans and aspirations for the next three years. Personally, I want to further build on the history and legacy of TTS/TTB. We want to continue to raise standards across the automotive and transport sectors
in Northern Ireland by providing best-in-class training across the entire career lifecycle. And we want to be at the forefront of the development of training in new vehicle technologies, such as hydrogen, electric and hybrid energy systems. Throughout my career I have always disrupted and innovated at every given opportunity and I don’t see my role at TTS being any different in this respect.
What are you most looking forward to? I always view entering a new career as climbing a mountain. When you are trying to give a vision to others it is very difficult for them to see the mountain peak. But as you go through the journey its always rewarding when you are able to get staff to look down to see how far they have climbed. I can’t wait for the next three years to pass, as I have no doubt TTS will be at a completely different level.
What is the one thing the Government could do to support your sector? I think there’s a number of things that impact different aspects of what TTS does. If we are talking about the apprenticeship side of the organisation, then getting public sector employers here to have access to the apprenticeship levy is important. The apprenticeship levy gets played down here and it’s unfortunate that it does. All of the 11 super councils, all of the health trusts, and any other public sector body in Northern Ireland, as well as some in the private sector, have to pay in but they get absolutely nothing back from it. In England the fund definitely influences the development of opportunities and new apprenticeship frameworks. Because large public sector employers here are getting nothing back for this money there’s no encouragement for them to take on apprentices, which was the purpose of the levy in the first place – to get public sector, private sector, voluntary agencies to develop apprenticeships and apprentices. Giving all Northern Irish businesses (public, private or
