The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 23
New contracts manager joins from Severfield
Finley Structures has recruited a new contracts manager from a major national firm.
Fred Searle has joined the Finley management team after 29 years with Thirskbased Severfield.
Searle, from Harrogate, says the move was made easy because of his longstanding association with a number of key staff already at Finley Structures.
He knows the firm’ s managing director and founder, John Finley, from his days as a Severfield director.
He also worked with Finley’ s current operations manager Jim Graham and commercial director Diane Ruston during their time with the North Yorkshireheadquartered company.
Finley Structures operations manager Jim Graham with the firm’ s new contracts manager Fred Searle.
Graham joined Finley from Severfield in October 2013 and Ruston followed him North in May 2014.
“ There’ s a 25-year history between me and some of the key personnel here at Finley Structures,” said Searle.
“ What attracted me to join Finley’ s was the working environment and the family-run ethos it has at the heart of the company.
“ I’ ve also been impressed by the work ethic of the people here. It’ s a very forwardthinking business and I’ m looking forward to the new challenge.”
Graham added:“ Fred and I go way back and we’ re delighted to have him on board as part of the management team.
“ He’ ll be an extremely useful addition to the workforce as we continue to grow.”
Finley Structures estimating manager Andrew Workman with Michael Brown, who has swapped his career in painting and decorating for a new trainee estimator role.
Michael swaps paint brush for the calculator in career move
A qualified painter and decorator has swapped his paint brush for an office in a bold career move.
Michael Brown has given up a decorating career he started after leaving school 16 years ago.
Now the 32-year-old, from Ferryhill, has opted for a new line of work as a trainee estimator with Finley Structures.
“ It’ s definitely a big change but one I’ m really excited about,” said Brown, who’ s learning his new trade with the firm’ s estimating manager Andrew Workman.
“ As part of my previous job I would price up projects, so although this is on a much, much bigger scale it’ s using the same principles – working out from drawings the materials required, the fabrication time, steel erection, the man hours, and coming up with an accurate cost for the client.
“ I’ m very much learning the ropes but I’ m enjoying the different nature of the industry and getting to understand it.”
The appointment of Brown is another example of Finley Structures’ commitment to inject more youth into the business.
A year ago, the firm appointed graduates Natalie Chewter as assistant quantity surveyor and Tom Radcliffe as a structural engineer.
Operations manager Jim Graham said:“ The construction industry faces many recruitment and sustainability challenges as we try to plug the skills shortage.
“ For many years the industry generally hasn’ t been recruiting enough young people, and as a result a generation gap of skills has developed.
“ We recognised this as an issue a couple of years ago, so we’ ve been actively recruiting young people into the business, and exploring different ways of doing that – and not just with traditional apprenticeships, as that alone won’ t solve the problem.
“ We’ re still taking on apprenticeships, but we’ re also thinking outside the box in terms of bringing other skills and qualities in from other sectors.
“ Michael has already taken to his new job like a duck to water and we’ re very confident he has a bright future with us in the construction industry.”