Tony Nicholls: BSc Hons Integrated Engineering with Management

Tony Nicholls

BSc Hons Integrated Engineering with Management, 1995

"I am Managing director of Furmanite International."

Originally from Hemel Hempstead, Tony Nicholls is now the Managing Director of Furmanite International, a £24m engineering company in Cumbria.

Tony graduated in 1995 and although his course is no longer run at the University of Luton, he has a lot of praise for the time he spent here.

"I was 31 when I started at the University of Luton. I'd completed two HNC qualifications as well as an ONC but I just couldn't break into a senior management role."

"I studied part-time for my degree while I worked for British Gas for four years which was hard work but so worth it."

"I was travelling to Luton and all over the place with work so needless to say it was tiring!"

"But when I graduated in 1995 I was offered the position of General Manager of I.P.S.C.O, a pipeline services company based in Scunthorpe. I wouldn't have even been considered for this job without my degree, so straight away it felt like the four years of hard slog had been worth while."

"My degree gave me the chance to learn how to be on both sides of the fence - I could work with a hands-on approach, as well as dealing with management issues and problems as a Director."

"So although it was a difficult thing to do part-time, in the long run it was completely worth doing."

Interview took place in 2004.