Case study

Emergency Planning Officer, Gerry

Watch the film and find out more about Gerry's job working as an emergency planning officer in a local council.

Gerry's interview

Video transcript

I'm Gerry Cast and I'm an emergency planning officer for London Borough of Lewisham. An emergency planning officer's role is a wide and varied one. The wonderful thing is that the risks, the threats, the hazards faced by an organisation are dynamic, they are always evolving. At certain times of the year flooding is going to be a much higher priory whereas in the winter months, things like pandemic flu are a much higher risk. I really, really like the challenge and I like the fact that it's an ever changing role and I do like the fact that there are no two days that are the same.

In my career, well, I wouldn't say anything has held me back other than perhaps choices that I have may made. The real focus of my life and educational studies was law. Learning to overcome these set methods that have been ingrained for a number of years and learning to be much more open minded, that was a challenge, at first, but didn't hold me back. I guess it fuelled me further. Studying law has taught me a lot of things, but becoming an emergency planning officer has helped me grow a lot more, I guess, and it certainly pushed me forward and made me a lot more proactive as well.

In five years time, 10 years time even, I can see myself staying in this field and progressing as far as I possibly can, if that's head of emergency planning for a local authority or even possibly working for central government, the cabinet office.

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