Blog

May – Building the Team
May – Building the Team
May has been one of the most positive months since I first signed the lease for the centre. For the first time, it feels like we're moving beyond bricks, mortar... Read more...
Visiting the Fire Safety and Security Event at the NEC with Orisec
April – Starting to Feel Real
Electrics completed in the classroom, approval activity booked for May, and a communal area added so installers and learners can drop in. It really feels like a centre now. Read more...
Continued progress at the ProTech training centre workshop in Rotherham
March – Building Momentum
A mixed month: a break-in and stolen tools, but the BPEC approval process begins, support arrives from Orisec, and momentum starts to build. Read more...
The ProTech training centre classroom taking shape after the roof repair
January & February – Turning the Corner
After months of delays and a point where I nearly gave up, the roof is finally repaired and the classroom is taking shape as a real training space. Read more...
Working with a Gas Safe engineer to install an Ideal Logic Max boiler
December – Progress, Patience, and Perspective
The eBook goes live, the roof gets a temporary fix, and an unexpected boiler replacement becomes a useful CPD opportunity fitting an Ideal Logic Max. Read more...
Matt taking part in Movember while continuing the ProTech training centre fit-out
November – Flat Out (Literally)
A flu that floored me for two weeks and more roof trouble, but real progress on the classroom bays and electrics — and Movember completed despite it all. Read more...
Progress at the ProTech training centre almost a year after starting the business
October – Nearly a Year Since Lighting the Fuse
Almost a year on from handing in my notice — the training room held up by roof leaks, but furniture sourced, Movember underway and the eBook nearly ready to launch. Read more...
Fitting out the new ProTech training centre
September – The Fit-Out Fiasco
The fit-out begins: studwork, two roof leaks, a personal-guarantee curveball from the bank, and plenty of sleepless nights turning an empty unit into a training centre. Read more...
Signing the lease for the new centre
August – Signing on the Dotted Line
Finally signing the lease on a training centre in Rotherham — a bigger, bolder unit than planned — after an email mix-up nearly cost me the deal. Read more...
July – Chasing Bricks and Mortar
With consultancy work flowing, the hunt for premises begins: viewing unit after unit, missing out time and again, and building resilience along the way. Read more...
Working on a laptop on holiday while building ProTech Education and Assessment
June – Building Momentum (and Working Poolside)
The green shoots grow into steadier work — even while glued to the laptop on a family holiday in Greece — alongside progress on my plumbing business eBook. Read more...
May – Sleepless Nights, Part 2
Life after leaving BPEC: no salary, a blank calendar and plenty of 3 a.m. doubts — until the first green shoots of consultancy work began to appear. Read more...
Matt and Neil on his last day at BPEC
April – Closing One Chapter, Opening Another
On Bonfire Night 2024, after a decade at BPEC, I handed in my notice at 50 to start something of my own — closing one chapter and opening another. Read more...