Matt goes from Stannah apprentice to Design Engineer for Major projects

The generations of people that have worked at Stannah over the last 150 years and the people working across the Stannah Group today, have massively helped to shape the business.

Stannah is proud to have a long history of apprenticeships which continue to work for the company throughout their career. Matt is one of these, having started with Stannah 8 years ago.

Matt explained that he had always enjoyed making things and solving problems but wasn’t keen on pursuing the ‘natural’ route into University. Matt saw a Stannah advert for engineering apprentices, offering hands-on learning with recognised qualifications and pay.

It wasn’t until he started, that Matt realised the full breadth of Stannah’s business includes installing, maintaining and refurbishing almost every type of lift product across the UK and worldwide with Stairlifts.

After being an apprentice for four years, working within the platform lifts division, Matt saw product development in-house from conception of an idea, to design, to fabrication and assembly, to installation. As a result, Matt was able to understand business operations while working towards qualifications.

Matt had the opportunity to work in the Contracts Drawing Office at the end of his apprenticeship, moving from Junior Draughtsman to a fully qualified Draughtsman a few months after.

Now, Matt works as a Design Engineer for the Major Projects Division, major projects being Stannah’s specialist department, working on construction projects over a long project period or a heritage site with technical challenges.

Currently, Matt is producing designs and liaising with Stannah’s client to install 3 passenger lifts at Manor Park Station as part of the ‘Access for All’ initiative set out by the government to provide step free access.

Matt explains that “there are ongoing meetings with various construction disciplines such as architects and M&E designers to finalise the designs and ensure all of the various elements marry up when it comes to installation. It’s really interesting work, as this team gets involved in building a lift at component level, liaising with our equipment suppliers to produce a complete package that meets with the client’s specification and EN81 lift standards.”

Matt advises getting involved and asking lots of question, if you are starting out at Stannah. Stannah look for enthusiasm and people that share their engineering passion, he comments.

This year marks 150 years since Joseph Stannah established the company in London in 1867, now employing over 1800 people locally.

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