What is your role with Apex Lifts and how long have you been doing it?
My role currently at Apex Lifts is Engineers Assistant. I recently finished my NVQ and I am now qualified, so this should change soon.
What qualification did you complete?
NVQ Level 3 in lift engineering.
Did you find Apex Lifts to be supportive during your time studying?
Yes, they have always supported me from the day I started. From engineers to the highest management. One example is when I contacted my project manager Gary Ager that I needed a certain job to complete a section of my NVQ and he went above and beyond and rung around the engineers and organised for me to go and help them that day so I could do what I needed for my write-ups.
What skills do you use in your daily role?
I think in lift engineering there really isn’t a specific skill you use. It’s a trade where you use all your skills. Some days you’ll be doing electrics some days is the mechanical side and some days you can be painting. No day is the same when working on Lifts. Although two things I’d say are vital are common sense as we do a dangerous job and people skills. We come into contact with a lot of residents and People working in buildings so being able to talk to people and being polite is important.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
I wake up at 5:30am and get the train to work. Arriving just after 7am, I have some breakfast and am ready to start at 8am. We have lunch around 12ish (depending on how hungry we are haha) then leave around 5pm. When I get home I play a bit of FIFA/call of duty or watch football if there’s any on TV to wind down.
What do you wish you would have known about your job before starting?
How much I actually hated heights haha…
What do you love the most about your job?
There are a couple of things I love the most about my job. One is some of the buildings and jobs you come across. My favourite as of now is probably the Old Bailey. It was night work and being in there at night is really cool but eery. Knowing the history of London and the people that have once been there is interesting.
One of the others is the satisfaction you bring clients/residents once the job is complete and they have a new lift after having years of problems with their old one is satisfying.
What do you least enjoy about your job?
Well there’s not a lot really that I dislike about the job itself. But there’s nothing worse than working in the winter. It’s cold and wet and you leave for work in the dark and get home when it’s dark.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone looking to get into the lift industry, what would it be?
Get yourself into a company like Apex who will look after you and teach you! Be prepared to listen and learn and on certain jobs be prepared to get very dirty.
