‘They’re like family!’
A love of construction and a desire to see the world first led Daniel Van Vuuren into contracting: in South Africa right now, he thinks his next move will be heading up a construction project in Sudan or Papua New Guinea.
For, Daniel, being a contractor is a long-term career choice, and he gets a great deal of satisfaction from his work: ‘Last year I was construction manager on a project in Kenya: it was my first time in management and I learnt a lot from working with all the guys’, he says.
While the construction side of things, the constant learning on the job and the great guys he works with make contracting very worthwhile, the downside is the uncertainty – ‘one day you have a contract, the next you may not’. Close relationships with First Point help though, because ‘Mark and David are always on the look out for the best opportunity for me, and won’t put me forward for something that won’t suit me –they don’t disappear: you can always get hold of them.’
‘I’ve always worked with First Point’ says Daniel, ‘and I will only go with them. They’re very efficient but they have a sense of humour and they get me. Mark, David, Yelena, Alice… we talk to each other as friends. They’re like family!’
Interview dated: March 2010
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