Fighting Fires Together

VALLA really values its people, and we, as an organisation, know we are only ever as good as the people we employ. We know that without their support, hard work and dedication, we cannot provide a platinum service to our clients. To harness the value VALLA places on its people, we encourage them to follow their dreams and passions and where possible, VALLA will support them to achieve their biggest ambitions.

In our first blog, in which we highlight how VALLA supports its people to follow their dreams, we meet Curtis Chilvers, 26, a Senior Trust Officer who has worked at VALLA for eight years.

A few years ago, Curtis was at a crossroads. He wasn’t sure if finance was the right career path for him, so he boldly decided to consider alternative career paths. He soon decided that he would like to become a firefighter as he had heard a lot about it through a friend at the station that really enjoyed his role and the diversity of the tasks that it entailed.

Having worked in such a close-knit and small team for the previous six years at VALLA, Curtis had fostered deep relationships with his peers and management, too, so he felt happy to share his vision for change with the senior team. Together, they sat down and discussed how this could work for him and how VALLA could support him in achieving his end goal. While VALLA were, of course, sad that Curtis no longer wanted to work in finance, they fully supported his desire to change career and actively encouraged him to follow his goals.

Upon completing his application to become a firefighter, Curtis was advised that, sadly, the station did not have sufficient vacancies to offer him a full-time position but instead offered him a role as a retained firefighter.

A retained firefighter is a part-time role in an on-call crew that supports the whole-time fire service when their resources are challenged.

The invitation to become a retained firefighter allowed Curtis the chance to follow his passion for becoming a firefighter while remaining at VALLA with the people he had grown so close to. This opportunity allowed Curtis to switch up his career while still earning a great salary and continue working closely with his colleagues; a win-win situation!

The retained position involves Curtis working with the fire service on a part-time basis. Being on-call for 24 hours a day every other day was a big commitment, which could only be achieved with the support of Valla.

Being a retained firefighter is a big commitment and does impact your social life.

In his mid-twenties, Curtis recognises that his commitment to this role can certainly impact his busy social life.

“When I’m on call, I must make sure that I can reach the fire station within 15 minutes of a call, so there is no way I could agree to go St Ouen with my mates or go and play sport for a couple of hours. And don’t even think about going to the pub for a few beers!”

For some reason, Fridays always seem to be the busiest of days.

“As a retained firefighter, I get called in to assist in various emergencies, including supporting the paramedics, assisting in road traffic collisions, cliff/​sea rescues, fires, of course, and the occasional cat up a tree. As you can imagine, the role is very varied.”

If Curtis’ emergency pager buzzes during his working day, he must literally stop what he is doing and leave the office immediately. VALLA are incredibly supportive of this and allows him to leave at a moment’s notice. What’s more, if he is called to an emergency overnight and is expected in the office after just a few hours or no hours of sleep, they will often allow Curtis to have a bit of a lie-in so he feels rested and able to take on his day job.

Valla continues to motivate me to grow and develop

“Even outside of my role as a firefighter, VALLA is incredibly supportive of my professional development. For example, a few years ago, they invited me to join some of the management team on a business trip to Israel. That opportunity to travel outside the UK and meet clients I wouldn’t normally meet really boosted my confidence.”

VALLA aren’t afraid of exposing its more junior members to bigger experiences in the hope they will expand their horizons and help them build self-belief and confidence. VALLA place great trust in their young people especially, as they recognise they are the generation of the future and the ones who will help VALLA progress in years to come.