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When I was very young my dad used to work at Co-op Funeralcare, and when I was still in school he encouraged me to get a 10-hour per week Driver Bearer role at my local branch. Back then I was coaching at my local football team and wanted to build a career in coaching. At first I thought this 10-hour job was more of a stopgap, but once I started working at Co-op Funeralcare I discovered that I could train to become a manager.

Why I joined Co-op

I left school at 16 to join an independent funeral home, and soon after I came back to Co-op full time as a Funeral Service Crew. I decided to join Co-op as I knew that as soon as you’re in the job there are a lot of opportunities, training and apprenticeship schemes to strive for – there’s a clear path to progression if you want to, it’s not just a job, it’s a career.

It’s a very rewarding job, but it’s also a lot of responsibility. A lot of moving parts that you need to get right, but once you get the fundamentals you can make it easier. Plus you get lots of support and training from your colleagues. And, personally, I thrive in that busy environment, I always have – so I started to get some other responsibilities bit by bit, helping out in the office, picking up different tasks.

Building a career at Co-op Funeralcare

And when the opportunity came up for a secondment as a Care Logistics Lead I didn’t hesitated. This is a very busy job, with lots of responsibility on the day-to-day running of the care centre, coordinating the fleet, the staff, scheduling funerals etc, but it has also given me the opportunity to learn and develop new skills.

To anyone out there looking for a long-term career, Co-op Funeralcare is a unique place in which you can develop while doing something meaningful. There’s some stigma sometimes around the job, but you couldn’t imagine how much you get out of the job – honestly this is one of the most rewarding jobs you could do. Every day, when you finish work, you feel like you have achieved something.

Zach Waller

Care Logistics Lead