Ray Jones, Business System Consultant
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Ray started his Wrekin career at the Council and took the option of transferring to the Trust in 1999.
For Wrekin's 25 year anniversary in March, we caught up with staff who've been with us since the very beginning, asking about their Wrekin journey and highlights over the years.
Working as part of the ICT team as Business Systems Consultant, Ray has seen big changes over his time here, perhaps the biggest being the development of HQ at Old Park.
“When we started, we didn’t have a place to hang a hat! We were all based in small rented buildings all around the place with phones that you had to plug in from one desk to another. When HQ was built, it was really exciting for us, although a lot of work for ICT. People could now see a building with a Wrekin Trust sign outside where everyone could come and the majority of us were based. We were now our own entity.”
“It was just the sheer scope of it all going from Council to Trust and then to Group. Who’d have thought in 1999 that we would one day be recycling furniture too! One moment we were supporting trades in the local area then, before we knew it, we were taking calls from South Shropshire and Staffordshire. At one point we tried commercial work, selling software to other organisations – we could see they had similar needs.”
Ray remembers how they started as a team of just 8 but that soon grew to nearly three times that with a much broader skill set: “We were initially a core group of experienced people but it’s been beneficial for us to expand and get new staff and apprentices in too. They are educated in new technology that wasn’t available to us back then.”
Asked if he has enjoyed his time so far at Wrekin, Ray said: “The fact that I’m still here now is testimony to that. I really appreciate what Wrekin has done for me. It’s not always been easy but nowhere is paradise. Wrekin has always understood my personal commitments and I’ve always been committed to work. After 25 years the proof is in the pudding!”