Cars to houses ?" Aaron shows transferable skills in a year of change
18 Dec 2020
After being furloughed in the automotive industry, Aaron Chapple, 27, moved his career to housebuilding and has been surprised how transferable his skills have been. He is now a sales consultant for Vistry Group, which includes Bovis Homes and Linden Homes. Aaron spent the last six years working in Marsh Barton, Exeter ?" which has the highest volume of car showrooms in the whole of Europe ?" and has been a sales consultant for BMW, Lexus and Toyota. Aaron commented: “I’ve always loved cars, it’s a real hobby of mine and I spend ages tinkering with them! I’ve restored a number of cars with a previous employer, including a Maserati, Austin Healey, Porsches and Jaguar E, C and D types, plus many others! I’m currently restoring two racing cars with my grandad, which is an amazing experience. I absolutely adore it and we always have a car on the go. I’m a trained panel beater and sprayer so the path to the automotive industry fell naturally to me and working in the sales department is where I felt comfortable. “However, this year ?" everything changed. I was furloughed and so I started working for a friend’s dad, who’s a builder. I was labouring, bricklaying and getting involved in lots of different aspects of the build, it was fantastic. I enjoyed my time on site, especially when the weather was good and the sun came out! It made me realise, while I was restoring cars in my spare time, I was ready for a change in my work life. When I heard Vistry was looking for sales consultants, I applied and was thrilled when I got the job in September; it’s been great to have a new challenge. “While it’s a very different industry, what’s really surprised me is how many aspects of the job are similar. Not only are they both expensive, and emotional, purchases for customers to make; they both require clear communication between the company and buyer; and involve dealing with people on a daily basis, which I just love. I’m so pleased I’ve made this change.” Aaron lives with his partner, Connie, in Kingsteignton and they recently bought their own home. Aside from restoring race cars, Aaron also likes boxing and Thai boxing. However, he added: “I gave up boxing a few years ago and only watch it on television now, as it doesn’t send the right impression turning up to work with bruises on your face and chipped teeth!” Emma Smith, sales and marketing director at Vistry, said: “Aaron is a great addition to the team and we’ve been delighted how transferable his skills have been from the automotive industry. Cars and houses are some of the biggest purchases people make and so Aaron has brilliant experience in helping customers find their perfect home. “2020 has definitely been a year of change and it’s wonderful that Aaron has seen this year as an opportunity and adapted, while still staying true to his career in sales. The housebuilding industry is thriving at the moment, with so many people needing a home office or a bigger garden and keen to benefit from the stamp duty holiday, so Aaron’s been incredibly busy ?" it’s been a great move for us too.”
