After leaving school at the age of 18, I started working for an insurance company as an underwriter. However, after 3 years, I realised how monotonous it had become and decided to change direction. As a way of filling in between jobs, I started working for my stepfather who was a fence installer for a local company.

Although at first the work was mainly labouring, I quickly realised that I really enjoyed the job and the freedom of being out in the open. I set about learning the trade and all the training I received was on the job, practical training. I was extremely keen to learn, as the faster my capabilities grew, the greater the opportunities I had to earn more money. Training at that time was not based upon a set, say, three year apprenticeship. The faster you learned, the faster you were treated as a skilled installer and the faster you were paid a skilled installers rate (this has not changed with the advent of the National Vocational Qualification. The length of the training period is largely down to the eagerness and aptitude of the trainee).

By the age of 24, I had been a skilled installer for some time. I decided that I wanted to run my own company, and Newton and Frost Fencing was subsequently formed in partnership with my stepfather.

Having taken the big step to form my own company, I soon realised there was far more to running a fencing company than just being a good installer. Where contractual and quantity surveying issues were concerned I largely taught myself, which with hindsight was very much the hard and painful way. With the growth of my company, we now offer comprehensive training to all our employees. This includes National Vocational Qualifications and higher qualifications in quantity surveying, health and safety and plant operations techniques.

I normally start work early, and cost control is one of my first jobs. This involves comparing our costs on each job to our income. I am provided with computer generated reports on the financial situation of every contract we are working on, and it is imperative that these are studied closely to ensure that each contract is operating on a financially viable basis. Without this information it would be very easy for contracts to operate at a loss. This could lead to disastrous effects, especially if found out too late to rectify the situation.

I attend pre-contract meetings to ensure that new contracts are set up on a contractually correct basis, and also seek to organise partnering deals with selected main contractor partners on a supply chain management basis. Many new contracts lean heavily towards quality bids and are not solely price driven.

I am Chairman of the Fencing Contractors Association, a member of Lantra Fencing Industry Group, three Highways Agency Sector Scheme Committees, the Safety Fencing Association and am heavily involved in developing National Vocational Qualifications for the fencing industry.

My company has now expanded into one of the largest fencing companies in the country and our clients include major civil engineering contractors, the Highways Agency and local councils. In the future, I am considering expanding the business into associated industries. With the busy nature of the fencing industry, everyday is different, yet stimulating and challenging. I am very fortunate that I work as part of a hard working and dedicated team who are all working towards a common goal.