Glasgow's longest serving female telecoms engineer dials off after 50 years of work

Scotland's longest serving telecoms engineer hangs up after 50 years, marking a major milestone in the company.

Alison Houston, 68, from Kinning Park, dialled off today (April 30) after reaching an incredible milestone of 50 years at Openreach - the only person in the 3,400 workforce to notch up 5 decades.

Alison followed her night operator dad into the company, then known as the General Post Office (GPO) as a shy 17-year-old in 1974.

READ MORE: Snap! to change Rhythm is a Dancer lyric in tribute to iconic Scots DJ Mallorca Lee

READ MORE: Inside Lorraine Kelly's former home in beautiful Scottish countryside as it hits market

Alison started in the city’s Pitt Street exchange, connecting local calls to operators in exchanges around Scotland, then moved to International Enquiries and into clerical roles.

She switched to engineering more than 20 years ago – and says communications have changed beyond recognition on her watch.

Alison said: “When I started out, there were places in the UK you could not dial direct, like the Scottish islands. You had to dial 100 for the operator, and I would answer and then contact the operator up north to connect your call.

“Nowadays it’s all changed and you can call the world. My old granny and grandpa were amazed with a cordless phone, never mind a mobile! If they could see where we are now they’d think it can't be real, it’s space age stuff.

“I remember when nobody had even heard of broadband – and a lot of people still don’t realise we connect everything from traffic lights to the lottery machine in your corner shop.

“In clerical work, nine out of ten were females, whereas in the engineering side maybe only one out of ten are females. But I've personally found male colleagues are more than willing to help you out or offer advice. I’d say to any girl thinking of a career in engineering, if it’s what you want to do, go for it.

“I've been thoroughly happy being an engineer and climbing ladders and what have you. Ultimately it’s all about getting the customer connected up to whatever service they want. I run the wiring and suddenly they're connected to the world.”

Join Glasgow Live's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

Now that she’s retiring, Alison says she’ll miss the camaraderie with other engineers, and she’s already planning to check on any she spots working locally.

She continued: "I'm contemplating buying a wee house with a garden and maybe getting a wee dug, as they say in Glasgow, and take them for walks,” she said. “I’ll annoy the Openreach engineer that's working at the local street cabinet and say, ‘I used to do that, so I'll tell you how to fix it’. Yeah. Why not?”

Jenni Macfarlane, Openreach Scotland’s Service Delivery Director, said: “Alison is our longest-serving Scottish employee, a trailblazing female engineer and a stalwart of the General Post Office (GPO), BT and Openreach over the past 50 years. It’s a truly remarkable achievement.

“Her career journey from operator to engineer is inspirational and she’s made a huge contribution to the company and the people and communities she’s served. We wish her the long and happy retirement she has more than earned.”

Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here to receive news and features direct to your inbox