Recruiting for growth: building careers in crane hire
Recruiting the right people with the perfect balance of experience, qualifications, professionalism and commitment can be challenging.
Add in highly regulated, potentially high-risk operations and the selection of suitable new recruits becomes a little bit more complicated.
Entry routes into the crane hire industry
Thanet Crane Hire has a long record of offering training and career options to people without previous industry experience. Our family-run business employs 28 people including office staff, crane operators, lift supervisors, HGV drivers, slinger/signallers and mechanics.
We understand that everyone must start somewhere in building the career that’s right for them.
Core values and attitude
Over the years, we have learned that finding the right person with enthusiasm, a professional attitude and willingness to learn is the building block for a great team. These attributes are a head start that we can use to help the person learn and progress without having previously worked in the lifting industry.
And we can be sure that every member of staff works to our own high standards so that our customers can expect a great service every time.
Industry training and on-the-job learning
At Thanet Crane Hire new recruits can expect a mixture of specialist training, real-life experience on active sites, plus mentoring and advice from colleagues.
Supporting local talent with career development opportunities
Operations Director Jack Stickings explains; “Our people are our greatest asset, and we’re very proud of our team. We’ve built our success on training up local people who are keen to learn and develop their career, whether they had previous experience or not. We provide HGV training for drivers joining our transport division and nationally recognised qualifications for our lifting operatives.”
As well as introductory training, the company offers career progression opportunities as staff build their knowledge and experience.
Many Thanet Crane Hire staff joined the company without any industry experience and have benefitted from the training and career progression on offer.
From slinger/signaller to lift supervisor: career progression in action
Jack explains that the company has a training structure which gives new starters experience of lifting operations on working sites straight away. He said, “The first stage is to qualify as a slinger/signaller, with all the relevant health and safety training that is essential for safe site work. New starters work alongside our existing team members to build up their on-site experience.”
Health, safety and responsibility: foundations of the lifting industry
As well as a thorough practical grounding in the health and safety requirements of the lifting industry and construction sites in general, new starters at Thanet Crane Hire learn that every team member is responsible the safety of themselves and others. This applies to everyone at the company. We encourage everyone to remember that safety is paramount – nothing is more important than going home safely at the end of the working day.
After working as a slinger/signaller and becoming familiar with site protocols, a new team member at the company may want to progress to the next level of qualification as a lift supervisor. This training builds on the experience already gained in practical site work, timekeeping and teamwork.
Developing technical skills and embracing digital tools
The early days working at Thanet Crane Hire also give the new starter a chance to get to grips with our straightforward admin support which includes using our bespoke app to log hours worked.
All Thanet Crane Hire staff will use a range of vehicles and equipment in the course of their work, so they will also learn to use another in-house app to report any faults or damage to our maintenance team.
Reaching the top: becoming a qualified crane operator
Once qualified as a lift supervisor and having gained plenty of experience at this level of responsibility, the final stage of progression is to go on to train as a mobile crane operator.
With 18 cranes in the Thanet Crane Hire fleet, plus a growing haulage and access division, there is a wide range of options available to the person who joined the company without any previous experience.
Case study: Frank’s career journey in the crane hire industry
Pictured: Frank who began his journey with Thanet Crane Hire aged 19 and initially obtained his A40 CPCS Slinger/Signaller qualification. After demonstrating a strong understanding of his role as Slinger/Signaller he quickly progressed on to achieving his A62 CPCS Lift Supervisor ticket.
When Frank joined us, his end goal was always to become a crane operator. Over recent months he has been working towards achieving his career goal. After passing his A60 CPCS Mobile Crane Operator course at MI Construction training, Frank has now also gained his HGV license and is working as a fully-fledged TCH Mobile Crane Operator.
