From service technician to branch manager
Thorsten talks about his professional development - from starting out as a service technician to a managerial position as branch manager. He began his career in fire protection in 2015. Ten years later, he has since managed two locations, brought the teams together and is now responsible for a team of 30. ‘Becoming a manager wasn't originally my goal,’ he says looking back. ‘But I wanted to develop myself further - and the service technician training programme paved the way for that.’
Service technician development through more expertise
‘I used to work as a professional lorry driver, but over time I just didn't like the job anymore,’ he explains. His enthusiasm for fire safety developed through his voluntary work with the volunteer fire brigade and through his father, who worked as a service technician for fire extinguishers. With the desire for a career change, he finally applied for a job as a customer service technician for fire extinguishers. During the interview, he made it clear that he wanted more. He was given the opportunity and completed further training to become a customer service technician. Among other things, he gained expertise in the installation and maintenance of smoke and heat extraction systems. This additional qualification was an important milestone in his further development as a service technician and opened up new career prospects for him.
First experience in team coordination
Shortly afterwards, the company was looking for a dispatcher - someone to coordinate the service technicians' assignments, plan customer orders efficiently and avoid unnecessary journeys. Due to his logistical experience as a former professional lorry driver, Thorsten was approached directly for this role - and accepted the challenge.
In this role, he gained his first experience of coordinating a team of around 20 people. This task was a valuable learning opportunity for him - both organisationally and personally - and proved to be another important building block on the way to his current management role.
Shock, the fire protection company was sold
In 2019, the former fire protection company was taken over by CWS Fire Safety. Initially, this came as a shock to Thorsten - but looking back, it was one of the best developments that could have happened to him and the company. In 2021, he took over the position of Technical Manager - a significant step that gave him overall responsibility for the technical department and all service technicians. From then on, his tasks included not only scheduling, but also checking the plausibility of quotations, organising the training and development of service technicians, site visits and much more. His own career as a service technician stood him in good stead - he knew exactly what was important in day-to-day work and was able to empathise with his team perfectly.
The decision to become a manager
Through training courses with external providers and at the Fire Safety Academy, CWS Fire Safety's in-house training centre, Thorsten developed the desire to make even more of his management role. The path from service technician for fire extinguishers to manager was by no means always easy - quite the opposite. But he has never regretted this step.
‘I can't please everyone in the team, but I do my best every day,’ says Thorsten. ‘I'm not just responsible for my team - all their families are behind it too.’
Over time, Thorsten has learnt to adapt to the different personalities in the team and find a common direction. ‘The team gave me a leap of faith - and I made the best of it together with them,’ he says proudly.
Tips for craftsmen and service technicians
Thorsten has clear advice for anyone who also wants to develop their career: "Take the opportunities that come your way. At CWS Fire Safety, we first look internally before looking externally. If you are committed and take an active approach to your development - for example through further training as a service technician - you can take real career steps here."
Join the CWS Fire Safety team
Are you a craftsman who also wants to do further training as a service technician and achieve more than you have now? Then apply for a job or send us an unsolicited application!