Gray Stocker, Asbestos Consultant is part of Tetra Tech’s successful, international Asbestos team. Gray describes describe his day to day role as being varied, exciting and has the freedom he was looking for. Gray opened up to us about how he got into his role and gave insight into what his role looks like from the inside, his achievements and some of the challenges he has faced.
How did you get into working as an Asbestos Consultant at Tetra Tech and what have you done before?
My interest in the asbestos industry began when I studied environmental science growing up in South Africa.
About six years ago, I moved to London from South Africa. When I came over here, I got a job working for a small asbestos consultancy, it’s actually the same consultancy that our Director of Asbestos Duncan Gibb worked for when he started out. I had worked there for two years when I heard that Tetra Tech was looking for a new analyst. I went to the interview with Duncan and then I joined Tetra Tech.
What does your day to day job role involve?
There’s three parts to what I do, there’s:
- The analyst role, which is where we go to site when there’s asbestos removal required, we oversee the works to make sure it complies with the legislation and run air tests to make sure that fiber levels within the area are also within legislation. Within this element of the job, you also learn how to operate safely around asbestos. That’s where most people in the asbestos industry start, in an analyst role.
- Then I have the surveyor role, which is where we visit a site to identify where/if asbestos is in the building. It’s like being a detective, we’ll look at a building’s characteristics like it’s pipework, tiling and the age of the building to answer questions like what type of asbestos they’ve used and why would they put it there. We sometimes work backwards to find the asbestos.
- The 3rd part that I’ve moved into more recently is project management. This is all about pricing up works, managing contractors and working on tenders.
As a project manager I am trying to grow the business, find new work, contractors and clients. I really enjoy that part. Project management is more office based, whereas for the surveying and the analytical work, I’m out and about in new places each time.
These three roles allow for a great variety between being in the office and out on site which for me is a great mix. These roles, holistically give you a full perspective on the asbestos remediation journey and the importance of removing asbestos to ensure safer living and working conditions.
What specific challenges can you run into during your day? How do you overcome them?
I could be on different sites each day of the week, dealing with a variety of people from different backgrounds with their own quirks, their own attitudes and their own way that they want to get the job done. So, it’s certainly a challenge to be able to find the best solutions for our clients to make sure they are happy and their project can stay on track.
For example, I talk to CEOs, contractors, site staff, other technical staff and members of the public. I have to manage how I put myself out there to different people and it changes every day. That’s certainly a challenge that took a while for me to get used to when I first started, but I think it’s been beneficial because it’s even helped me in my social skills and confidence outside of work. I am much more open to meeting new people and speaking to different people using the skills I use at work.
Another challenge in my role is adapting to new environments, countries and cultures. I have worked abroad including working in Iran for a month, where no one spoke English creating a significant language barrier. But what I’ve found in every country I’ve gone to is if you can learn 10 key words and you say those 10 words with a smile on your face, they’ll move mountains for you, and people are more likely to help.
How have you fit into your team and have you found them to be helpful in your daily progression at Tetra Tech?
Certainly, the team that I’m in is a really experienced one. I’ve been doing this job for about six years and I think the closest experience to my own is probably about twelve to twenty years after that. So, within the team I look relatively new to it.
There’s no elitism, no one thinks they’re better than you. I can call the team anytime of the week with questions or they’ll call me if they need help with anything and they do the same to me, it’s great how we can all discuss projects with each other to draw on the different skills and experiences of the team to find the best solutions.
Because of Tetra Tech’s size, I get to work with different people all the time. Recently colleagues from the Manchester office, where I’ve never been, came down to London for a job and we all worked together well but also hit it off, had a laugh while doing so. It’s a great team.
Would you recommend working for Tetra Tech’s asbestos team?
Yeah, absolutely. Tetra Tech is really good at pushing you to go to the next step to progress your career. There’s no resting on your laurels. If you want to get a new certificate or a new qualification, they’ll be the first people to say yes.
As I’m sure most people do, LinkedIn always pings me with Job offers stating; ‘we’ll pay you this’ and ‘we’ll pay you that’. I don’t even read them anymore, I don’t even bother opening the messages because It’s a great team, the opportunities we have are excellent and the sites we work on are unmatched. Right now I’m on a job in Argentina, need I say more?
What do you wish you would have known about your job before starting?
Firstly, I’d say you’ve always got to be the newbie in the room at some point, everyone starts off as the newbie. But if you go in with the humble attitude of ‘I don’t know anything right now, but neither did anyone else in this room 10 years ago’, then you put yourself in the best possible mentality to learn and develop.
Secondly, keep your mouth closed more than it’s open. Actively listen to what people are telling you and take it in.
Lastly, I’d say put yourself out there. Being uncomfortable is a really good way to grow. You can always look back at a situation you’re in today and say, ‘all right, last week wasn’t great, but I got through it. I’ve asked the questions; I was the newbie in the room. I’ve learned and every week I’m getting better.’