SCH: Our Year of Strength.

As 2023 marches towards us, we are taking more time to look back over the year.

In our previous blog, we looked back over the projects which SCH completed this year, from our first project to some tricky sites... it wouldn’t be steel without it.

However, in todays blog we are looking back at 2022 for SCH and how we have grown as a culture.

Speaking to Gary Finley, the managing director of SCH, we reviewed the year through his eyes.

Starting with the start, we asked Gary about the landscape at the start of the year for SCH.

“The start of the year was exciting.

We had a solid start to the year with 6 months work already on the books.

We were about to embark on a large project which would give us time to concentrate on winning work for the second half of the year. It was great to start off strong and know we can continue strong.

It was a great start to the year with lots of exciting projects to build.”

Looking into the positives to come from the year, these were the points which made an honourable mention.

“We met our target of employing apprentices. We took on 4 apprentices this year, SCH are helping young people to begin their journey with the construction industry.

They have fit into the team brilliantly and are progressing in their roles well, it’s great to see such ambition from the younger generation for the industry

Finding young people with a desire to progress in our industry is a challenge.

We have employed 3 apprentices out on our sites and 1 within the factory. Our aim is to continue this into the new year.

SCH are part of the revolution of training the younger generations in the steel industry, to provide the industry with longevity and sustainability.

Many of our workforce have taken the option to upskill themselves. We actively encourage our staff to level up and all training costs are paid for, so to see the team take opportunities to upskill has been fulfilling.

Since the start of 2022, we have had 3 site operatives complete their NVQ 'Level 2 for Steel Erecting' with another 4 working towards theirs.

Another site operative is working towards his NVQ Level 3 with our production apprentice working towards his NVQ Level 3 in fabrication.

There are another 2 members of the management team which are currently working towards their NVQ Level 6 in Project Management.

We also have a member of the management team studying for his NEBOSH general certificate. He has passed his first assessment and now is awaiting his final exam.

The team have had a brilliant year, their drive to push themselves in both upskilling and with their technical ability. They have driven the business this year, which has been another reason why we have had a brilliant year.

I’d like to give a massive well done and thank you to the SCH team for their amazing year, you have all been amazing."

Looking forward to 2023, we asked Gary his vision for the next year.

“Next year looks to be very busy.

We will hopefully start the new year with 6 month work. Which is actually more than we had a start of this year.

We are busier than ever with tenders and have had to increase our estimating team to cope with the volume of work. Expansion is always great news and it’s great to take on more staff.

We would like to think that we can continue to recruit in other areas of the business in the early part of 2023.

Other than them, we are just exciting for what the next year can bring us and offer more to the community.

It’s been a brilliant year. We’re ready to take on 2023.”