"I really thought I was going to be flipping burgers for the rest of my life. This job came up in the right industry at the right time so it's marvellous."
Not having a job for so long "knocked" him around. "Especially when you start getting older you start to think you're old, useless and unwanted. It was a buzz, I got a phone call Christmas Eve ... then it was finalised last Monday."
Mr Bulford said he was excited about building a career instead of just a job.
"This is going to send me through into retirement age," he said.