After completing two Level 2 apprenticeships with Caterpillar, Regan joined MTC Training’s Level 3 programme to switch his focus from working on the production line to being part of the maintenance team.
We talked to him about why he feels apprenticeships offer the best start in a new role, what makes him passionate about passing his new skills on to others, and how he balances his engineering career with his quest to gain professional status as a pool player!
Why did you choose an apprenticeship?
I first joined Caterpillar as a level 2 apprentice, focusing on manufacturing processes and then six sigma and business improvement techniques on the production line. At the end of those programmes, I was offered this role, which is much more engineering focused. It’s a great opportunity to extend my skills and get more qualifications and practice. I’m part of the maintenance team now, maintaining equipment, tools and the automatic robot system we have at Caterpillar as well as responding to call outs.
Were you always interested in a career in engineering?
I’ve always been interested in maintenance and working hands-on with tools, and I’d done bits and bobs of engineering (Iike milling tools from blocks of metal) but nothing really electrical. My current apprenticeship is a big step up from what I was doing before!
How did you get into pool?
I started playing pool when I was very young, just eight or nine, when my mum worked in a snooker club. I watched other people playing, but the turning point was when I met Mark Selby – from then on I really got into the game, put the hours in and progressed from there! Around the same time, I became good mates with Tom Ford, another professional snooker player from Leicester, who then coached me through to making it into the U23 England team.
What’s been your biggest achievement in your pool career so far?
It was brilliant to make it into the Leicestershire County Junior Team at nine years of age, and then we won two national titles back-to-back. Later, I won my first major singles title in the Under-23 National Singles, and made it into the England U23 Team!
How do you balance being a pool player with your apprenticeship?
My apprenticeship always comes before my hobby but it’s quite an even balance. I complete all my work in the day time, and then practise pool or play in matches at night or on days where I’m not at work or in the training centre.
Practising pool doesn’t really feel like hard work – my local pub sponsors me and my snooker club gives me free tables too, so I can just put my music on and get on with it. The matches are more like work though, especially mentally, because I’m fighting for professional status. I have a lot of support which really helps, and being sponsored means that my entry fees, hotel stays and equipment are all paid for.
What are your future plans, both regarding your apprenticeship and sports wise?
From an engineering perspective, my goal is to complete my apprenticeship and go for an HNC too. I want to stay in engineering and work my way up the ladder at Caterpillar to become a team leader or section manager. I want to pass my new skills on to the younger generation coming through, just as my section manager did for me. He’s seen me through thick and thin, put his trust into me and given me extra responsibility to help me to step up. His skills, and having a good team around me, have helped me with my classroom work too.
I’m just aiming for the one goal at the moment with pool, and that’s to get professional status. It means that I’ll be able to play in a lot more competitions, including IPA Professional Events, I’ll be seeded and automatically qualify at open competitions, and I’ll have more TV appearances too. I wasn’t especially aiming for professional status last year, but I ended up just missing out by four points! It was heart breaking at the time, so I stopped playing for a few weeks and spent some time with my family to have a break and get my head round it. Now I’m mentally prepared and ready for next season.
Do you feel that your apprenticeship has helped your pool, and vice-versa, has your pool background helped you in your apprenticeship?
Yes definitely. They’ve each helped the other, especially when it comes to the mental side of things – staying focused and how to cope with different scenarios.
Would you recommend doing an apprenticeship to others?
Yes I would! If you’ve got a goal in life, if you want to become an important part of a team, then being an apprentice helps you to prepare for your working environment by teaching you the basic structures and giving you more confidence, rather than just launching you into a new role like a rabbit in headlights!