Day in the Life: Enda Flood, Air and Emissions Business Manager

Having joined the Air and Emissions team eight years ago as a Technician, Enda has progressed through managerial roles and has been fundamental in growing SOCOTEC’s Air and Emissions monitoring capabilities in Ireland.

Enda on…working at SOCOTEC

“I’ve been the Air and Emissions Business Manager since April this year, but I’ve been at SOCOTEC since March 2018. I came into SOCOTEC as an MCERTS Level 1 technician and then progressed through the MCERTS air and emissions qualification scheme.

“Once I became more established here and knew the client base, I took on the managing aspect as the most senior one on the team. I became Operations Manager in 2019, after 18 months at SOCOTEC, and then progressed to Business Manager in 2026.”

Enda on…his background before joining SOCOTEC

“I studied an Applied Environmental Science degree at University College Dublin through their agricultural science department, and then after a year of travelling I came back and completed a postgraduate certificate in Environmental Resource Management which covered air and emissions.

“Initially air and emissions wasn’t the plan for me. I wanted to work more in renewables, but I came out of college at the height of the economic downturn in 2010 and there weren’t many jobs going.

“I started working as an unpaid graduate intern at an environmental monitoring company and was taken on permanently after the six-month internship. It was multi-disciplinary, with a focus on energy management. I then moved to an air and emissions company, before moving to SOCOTEC’s Air and Emissions team a few years later.

“MCERTS is a UK certification scheme, so I hadn’t taken the certification exams when working in air and emissions within my previous role at an Irish company. When I joined SOCOTEC, I took the exams within my first week for compliance with the wider business across the UK.”

Enda on…expanding SOCOTEC’s Air and Emissions presence in Ireland

“During my first few months at SOCOTEC, there were only two of us working in the Air and Emissions team based in Ireland. Since then, we’ve been gradually building up the team with more stack testers and trainees.

“By expanding the team, we’ve also been able to increase our client portfolio and take on a lot more work. For example, we have a contract with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which has been able to increase in size over the years as we’ve been able to take on more of their air and emissions monitoring project.

“I want to continue to grow the business stronger and increase our Irish client base by offering more specialised EN 14181 works with continuous emissions monitoring.”

Enda on…working in Air and Emissions

“My favourite part of this industry is the variety – every day is different. I’m not stuck at a desk, and it gets me out and about. We have quite a variety of clients and cover all aspects of compliance testing, so we don't just have one particular client type.”

Enda on…advice for pursuing work in air and emissions and progressing into a managerial role

“There’s a good structure and career pathway in place for people coming in as trainees with the MCERTS scheme to provide training progression.

“For continuing into a managerial role, efficiency and communication are the main elements. You need to be very efficient in scheduling and planning, and if you can get that down, it makes the work a lot easier, especially when you’re dealing with a number of teams. Having good open channels for communication between yourself and the teams helps a lot.

“It’s tough work but enjoyable and rewarding. Every day there are different challenges and I like the ability to deal with them and overcome the potential issues. I’d recommend it for anyone who doesn’t enjoy the idea of being confined in an office for a long period and likes to work outside.”