Donna spent four years in the Territorial Army (TA),
where she gained her HGV licence and passed a
number of other driving courses, including
DROPS vehicle training. She left the
TA in 1997 and is now Transport
Coordinator at Keyline Edinburgh.
“As a DROPS vehicle trained
driver, I had the opportunity of
maybe being one of the first
women ever sent to the frontline.
But sadly, I had to be discharged
from the TA’s Transport Corps for
medical reasons, which was hugely
disappointing. However, I loved driving and
decided to make it my full-time career.
After moving to London, I worked as a driver
for Travis Perkins and other builders’ merchants
for a while. I also had a stint with the London
Underground, where I gained my Transport Management qualification. In 2004, I moved
back up to Scotland and started looking for
another driving job. I applied for a role at Keyline
in Edinburgh and began work there in February
2005.
I was initially based at the Portobello branch, but
later relocated to Leith, where I’m still based today.
I’d heard of Keyline but until I joined, I didn’t know
it was part of the Travis Perkins Group. This was a
nice surprise as I wanted to be part of a big, stable
company that could offer me
good career prospects.
I started out as a fulltime
driver, which was
great fun. There’s
lots of freedom and,
as long as you get
everything done by
the end of the day, you’re essentially your own boss. It’s great to be
out and about meeting people, building customer
relationships and finding out about building
projects in your local area.
My driving career was suspended for a while in
2010, as when I was pregnant with my second
child I couldn’t fit behind the wheel! I was made
Transport Coordinator until I came back after
maternity leave, when I started driving again. In
January 2015, I was delighted to be promoted to
Transport Coordinator on a permanent basis.
It’s a very varied role, covering things like
vehicle maintenance, organising delivery routes
and dealing with legal aspects such as driver
tachographs. I also look after the branch’s fork
lift trucks, sorting out any repairs or maintenance.
Recently, I’ve also done a lot of relief driving, which
is great as I get to split my time between the
branch and the cab.
The biggest challenge about my role is getting
deliveries out on time so we can keep the promises
we make to our customers. The time management
and organisational skills I learned in the TA have
definitely come in useful, not to mention the ability
to work well under pressure! Having said that, I love
being busy and finding ways to solve problems and
make our customers happy.
Working for Keyline means you get a lot of training
opportunities – and it’s not just about role-related
skills, such as driving and Health & Safety. You
have access to the company’s online iLearn
system which offers a huge menu of courses which
you can use to develop your knowledge in new
areas. The courses I’ve taken include tool hire, fire
marshalling and people skills, to name just a few.
In my view, driving for Keyline is a great career
choice for anyone leaving the armed forces.
You’ll get all the training you need and have the
reassurance that your vehicle is always safe
and well-maintained. The company also offers
a lot of support, such as the driver consultation
programme that’s held every year to collect
feedback and discuss issues.
As with any company, you’ll need to apply yourself
and work hard to succeed at Keyline. But once your
foot’s in the door, the opportunities to progress
really are limitless.”