Case study 1 – Caterpillar Field Service Fitter – Fitter in England to Field Service Fitter in Australia
Recruited in September 2010 and deployed to Australia in 2011 to start work for one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers
This is Karl’s journey.
Hours worked at the Australian Caterpillar Dealer since hiring
Commenced employment with Australian Caterpillar Dealer
Date employment ended with the Australian Caterpillar Dealer
ROI for the Australian Caterpillar Dealer
Where did Karl’s journey begin?
Karl contacted our international recruitment specialist Dennis in 2010. Karl was very interested in migrating to Australia with his family and had heard that we were offering relocation packages to people with the right qualifications, skill and experience.
After a few emails back and forth and phone conversations we assessed that Karl was a genuine candidate for Australian Caterpillar dealers. What was initially clear was that Karl was a dedicated family man and whatever role or location that was on offer, would have to suit a family with young children.
So we sent our international recruitment specialist Dennis to meet up with Karl in person. Dennis asked Karl where would he like to meet up for the first in person chat, and Karl suggested meeting in the evening after he finished work at a hotel near the M20 in Kent, England. Even though this meant our recruiter would have to spend a few hours in Europe’s biggest car park (The M25), a meeting was arranged and Karl’s journey had begun.
Previous working history
Karl was originally an apprentice at H Leverton which were taken over by the UK Caterpillar dealer Finning UK Ltd during Karl’s apprenticeship.
Karl stayed on for a couple of years at Finning after completing his apprenticeship before spending years in field service with Volvo and Greenshields JCB UK.
Karl knew systems and processes very well, his comprehension and use of electronic tools like Cat ET and SIS and of course contamination control and it’s importance with machines and especially in field service was all very good.
Karl had worked on dozers, excavators, ADTs, motor graders etc and he was itching to get his hands on the big mining gear in the Queensland Caterpillar dealer’s fleet.
Making the move to Australia
Our international recruitment specialist Dennis completed the background and integrity checks on Karl and set about convincing the Australian Caterpillar dealer that they should interview and hire Karl as quickly as they could.
Dennis had no trouble convincing one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers that they should interview Karl as soon as possible, because if they didn’t take him, there was a line of other Cat dealers that would.
We were given the green light to have the dealer’s HR department conduct a telephone interview with Karl within minutes of our recommendation reaching them.
Karl was interviewed by the dealer by telephone and was quickly presented with a letter of offer to work for one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers.
Starting work at the Caterpillar dealer in Australia
Karl was initially placed into the regional branch workshop during his induction phase. Quickly moving into the field service team working on some of the biggest surface mining trucks and gear in the world.
Karl was well received by the dealer and fitted right in, like he had been a part of the team for years.
The follow up reviews carried out by our team with the dealer always came back with the same feedback “can you get us more like that?”.
Where is Karl now?
Karl is still working for the same Australian Caterpillar dealership.
He is very happy working in his role of Caterpillar field service technician.
Karl and his family all became Australian citizens as soon as they were allowed to do so.
With now over 10 years service with one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers and counting, Karl and his family have never looked back since migrating to Australia.
Feedback from Karl
My family life in Australia has changed dramatically for the better compared to our life in the UK.
The Australian Caterpillar dealer I started working for on large mining equipment have an excellent life / work balance compared to UK companies.
In the UK I used to have to work 6 long days a week and coupled with the traffic jams and long journeys, my role in field service in the UK left me little quality time with my family, and with young children I felt there must be more to life than this.
But at this Australian Caterpillar dealer I work a lifestyle roster of 4 days on, 4 days off, 5 days on, 5 days off – repeating the cycle.
To have five days off then work four days and the have four days off again, it means I have had the chance to be with my family as my kids have grown, I get to attend school sports days to watch the kids which is something I could never have done in the UK.
It’s not all plain sailing making a move like this with a young family, you have to take the rough with the smooth while you find your feet.
Would Karl recommend making the move to Australia to work for a Caterpillar dealer?
Well he said he was happy for us to share his story about his journey and that he’d highly recommend it to others and he wanted to say thanks to the Australian Caterpillar dealership for the opportunity!
Karl we wish you congratulations on your ten year long service award and may there be many more.
Did overseas recruitment of field service fitters work for one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers?
Some like to view success in monetary terms.
Some view success in terms of a person fitting in.
Some view success in terms of how long something lasts.
More than 10 years of service and still employed
More than 20,000 billable field service hours on Queensland mine sites
Became an Australian Citizen and committed family man heavily involved with the dealership and the local community and sports.
Regardless how you measure success.
The overseas recruitment of field service fitters has been an outstanding success.
Measure of ROI – Substantial