James Harrison
Service Manager — CLAAS Harvest Centre, Geraldton
Where do you come from?
My wife and I moved from Spaldwick, a small village in Cambridgeshire in the UK.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I have worked for CLAAS over the past 12 years. I started my apprenticeship with CLAAS UK back in 2005, which is a 4 year course. I then worked my way up to being a Master Technician before becoming a Workshop Foreman. Following my time as a workshop foreman, I made the move across to Australia.
When did you start working at CLAAS Harvest Centre?
I'm pretty new - I just joined the team at Geraldton in May 2017.
What does a typical day involve?
A typical day for me involves organising and planning work for a team of technicians. Monitoring and closing ongoing jobs, maintaining a safe working environment within the workshop and contacting customers regarding enquires or issues.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Every day presents a new exciting challenge to overcome.
How did you find the immigration process? How long did it take?
For me the immigration process was very straight forward. Both Landpower & Fragomen dealt with everything from a Visa point of view. In total the process took around 3 months
What do you like about living in Australia?
The outdoor laid-back life style in Australia is amazing, obviously coming from the UK the weather over here is perfect. Additionally it really appealed to me how close Geraldton is to the coastline.
What thing has taken longest to get used to?
I feel like we are right at home living in Australia. One small (silly) thing for me to get used to is calling a “combine” a “header” and a “header” a “front” coming from the UK this is taking some getting used to!
What advice do you have for others contemplating moving to Australia?
Stop contemplating the move and just do it. You will not regret it!