I moved to France and became a fluent French–speaking heating engineer

In the UK I worked as a freelance computer programmer. It was a great industry to be in during the 1990s – especially towards the end of the decade when there was lots of work correcting code in readiness for the year 2000. 

However, in the early 2000s work started getting harder to find and rates were more competitive. 

At the time, I was living in Ascot (Berkshire) with my wife Fiona, now 60, and our two children, Callan, now 27, and Briony, now 25. 

I decided to retrain as a plumber, and we began to consider moving somewhere more affordable. 

We initially thought about Wales, but soon realised if we were going to take our children out of school and move away from friends, we might as well go somewhere completely different. 

Now or never

It was one of those now or never moments. 

Fiona and I had always loved France – we had enjoyed several motorbike holidays here so were familiar with many areas. 

Plus we had a little French from school, so had a language base on which to build. 

We began our search for properties in Dordogne, but found the house prices too high. Eventually we found a place in Charente where property was more affordable, finally making the move in 2003. 

I thought it would be fairly easy to find a job as a plumber but, like many people who move to France, we had not done enough research. 

As I had self-trained, I did not have the relevant qualifications. This meant that while I could register with a temping agency, the work available to me would be low-paid and casual as I would be classed as unqualified.

I looked for another job as a stopgap and was finally offered a position at a tile factory. 

Getting to French fluency

While it was hard physical work and not my first choice of profession, being immersed in an entirely French environment forced me to learn French to fluency. 

Seven years on, I switched to a job in the printing and reprographics industry. 

However, three years later the company was bought out and I was made redundant. 

This is when everything changed for the better. I went to Pôle Emploi (now France Travail) and they offered me a chance to retrain as a heating engineer. It was a superb offer – a full-time, nine-month training course at a technical college just 10km from my home. I was also given unemployment benefit as I trained. 

The training was mainly classroom-based, although midway through the course we were expected to find work experience. 

I cannot imagine how difficult this would have been had I not had fluent French, so working in the factory paid dividends.

As the college is well known and respected, many companies would recruit directly from it. 

This meant I was offered a job before I had even taken my exams. 

Since then I have never looked back. I have changed companies to boost my salary and been head-hunted for my skills. 

My earlier roles were with gas companies, but in 2021 I moved to Hervé Thermique, a large national energy company. 

I was given a single full-time client: Martell, the oldest and one of the largest distillers in the Cognac region. 

I now work on their bottling plant, set in the vineyards, on site every day. It is a great role and a very relaxed working environment. 

As well as heating maintenance, I am responsible for general building maintenance, sanitation, lighting and other electrical installations. 

Hervé Thermique provided all training for certification in boom lifts, scaffolding, forklifts and electricity. 

My life now is completely different to the one I had in the UK. 

We own our property outright, and have a relaxed, purposeful way of life.