Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 21
Finley Structures joint managing director Julie Raistrick with
new recruits Natalie Chewter and Tom Radcliffe.
Finley Structures invests in the future
with two new graduates
Finley Structures is investing in the future with
the appointment of two new graduates.
The steel firm has appointed Natalie
Chewter as assistant quantity surveyor,
and Tom Radcliffe as a graduate structural
engineer.
Natalie, 22, from Spennymoor, graduated
from Northumbria University with a degree
in Geography before going on to take a
two-year distance learning Masters in
quantity surveying while working with Finley
Structures.
Working under the firm’s commercial
manager Diane Ruston, the former Tudhoe
Grange School and Durham Sixth Form
College student has already been working
on exciting new structures, including a
University Technical College in Scarborough
and the Sir Isaac Newton building at the
University of Lincoln.
“I’m really enjoying the variety of tasks
that I do within the role, and I’ve recently
began working on some of my own projects
which is exciting,” said Natalie.
“I’ve always wanted to work within the
built environment, it was just a case of finetuning what I wanted to do.”
Tom is a former Longfield School student
from Darlington and graduated from Teesside
University in 2014 with a degree in civil
engineering, after studying A-level Maths,
Physics and Biology at Queen Elizabeth Sixth
Form College in Darlington.
Working under senior structural engineer
Steve Sandford, Tom has already worked on a
number of projects including the Sarah Swift
building at the University of Lincoln, a Skyline
project at Heathrow Airport and Abbotsfield
School in Hillingdon, London.
The 22-year-old, who plans to take his
Masters in civil and structural engineering,
said: “I’ve always enjoyed Maths and
sciences so I have wanted to be an engineer
from quite an early age. It’s something I have
always found interesting.
“I saw some of the work Finley Structures
had done, some of the high-profile jobs
like Hitachi Rail Europe and Redcar Pier –
landmark, iconic buildings – so I saw it as an
exciting place to work.”
Finley Structures joint managing director
Julie Raistrick added: “We’re delighted with
both appointments and pleased to see them
settling in to their new roles quickly.
“It’s important that we look to bring young
people into the construction industry.
By Martin Walker
“There’s a skills set which will weaken in
the years ahead and it’s important that we try
to bring the younger generation through.”
Tom Radcliffe –
structural engineer
Natalie Chewter –
assistant quantity
surveyor