rocks and robbers
For Rob Walsh, managing director of land recovery at Holcim UK, work doesn’t stop when he leaves the office. Instead, in his spare time, he is a volunteer special sergeant with Derbyshire Constabulary.
a full circle journey
In his early career, Rob was a Royal Air Force fast jet engineer for 12 years working throughout the UK and abroad. After leaving the service due to personal circumstances, he looked for a role that would replicate that sense of camaraderie. It had always been an aspiration of Rob’s to join the police service, so he enquired about a career with Nottinghamshire Police.
After taking part in a training day, Rob was asked if there was anything that would preclude him from joining the force. Unfortunately, it turned out there was.
Rob explained: “During my career in the Royal Air Force, I spent a lot of time playing rugby and, consequently, sustained a knee injury. This was too much of a risk for the police force to take me on so regrettably, I decided to leave the role behind and not pursue it.”
Instead, Rob embarked on a career in the construction industry, working in various companies before joining Holcim in October 2022. As Holcim’s newest acquisition, Rob has been focused on restructuring and improving the Land Recovery division. Land recovery operates as a circular business, processing spent ballast from Network Rail for reuse and providing recycled services to both the internal and external markets.
“I manage a senior management team of 10 people while maintaining hands-on involvement across all business aspects,” Rob said.
”I love what we do at Land Recovery. I love the fact that we’re changing the mindset of people and individuals when it comes to sustainable construction and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with recycled materials in the sector. And it's not at the behest of losing out on primary sales; we're doing it as well as. And that's the exciting bit.
“We're also looking at new technology and innovation and how we can utilise feedstock materials and turn them into a valuable asset. So that's really exciting for me.”
opportunity knocks
After leaving his pursuit to enter the police force behind, Rob threw himself into his career in the construction sector. But a few years ago, an opportunity came up that he couldn’t refuse.
Rob said: “Just over three and a half years ago, I saw an opening in the Derbyshire Constabulary’s volunteer service. I applied and I’m really pleased to say I was accepted! After 17 consecutive weekends’ worth of training, I officially joined the volunteer service as part of the Special Constabulary. Fast-forward three years and I’m now a sergeant looking after a team of 13 other volunteers.
“I’m independent-patrol trained, and the public wouldn’t know the difference between me and a full-time police officer. Special constables have all the same powers as a full time officer. I get in a car, the radio goes, I go to the nearest job and I deal with what I find. I find it thoroughly rewarding.
“A lot of the time you're on your own and you have to react to what you see. You must react proportionally within the training that's been provided. But more than that, you have to talk to people, you have to put yourself in their situation, whether they're a perpetrator or a victim. And that's what I like – every interaction is something different. Especially when you’re out on patrol in the city centre at weekends, that’s an environment where you really are expecting the unexpected.”
While Rob attributes many of his skills to life experience, he’s also grateful to be able to work with a lot of young people, both within his role at Holcim and as sergeant.
“I'm old enough to be able to use some of the life skills to help people,” Rob said. “However, I'm lucky enough to work with many young officers that act well above their age in terms of helping the public. And that's not seen enough.
“The same goes for my role at Holcim. What I'm really excited about is the new kind of tranche of young people coming into the organisation who are already ingrained in terms of sustainable ways of thinking. They're looking for solutions to big problems in the industry and all we need to do is take the reins off and let them go! They're coming up with ideas we've not even thought of and different ways of working, and I think it's fantastic.”
highs and lows
Rob has had many highlights throughout his policing career, from being able to de-escalate hostile situations through talking and listening to perpetrators to acting with compassion to victims while supporting them through their darkest days.
Rob said: “I’ve discovered a lot about myself throughout my time in the police force. One that stands out to me is learning more about my own personal bias about crime origins. I think we all have our own thoughts on where crime stems from and the type of people who commit crimes, but my job has challenged this way of thinking and taught me not to stereotype or judge anybody.
“Obviously, I’ve had to deal with a lot of distressing situations too. From sudden deaths and missing-person cases to providing first aid and CPR, the job is never the same. But throughout all these scenarios, I’ve learned that de-escalation is such a powerful tool and simply listening can bring tensions down.
“This is something that I’ve taken into my role at Holcim. I learn so much from the people around me by being open to new ideas and encouraging an environment where no idea is a bad idea. I’m also a member of Holcim UK’s Emergency Services and Veterans and Families Affinity Network which allows me to discuss my experiences with like-minded employees.”
Whether he’s looking after the planet or the public, Rob is dedicated to putting others first and ensuring he listens first and acts second.
Holcim is part of the Employer Supported Policing scheme. As part of this, employees like Rob get 10 days paid time off to undertake duties and training. This is part of our approach as a business to support flexible working and we offer a similar scheme for armed forces reservists.
To find out more, please visit our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion pages.
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