Celebrating Women’s Day and building futures in Lifting
In recognition of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2025, Emily Buck of Delmark Lifting Equipment discusses her career journey towards building a bright future in the Lifting Industry.
Opportunities are immense in a Lifting Industry that is truly global and includes a myriad of occupations and fulfilling careers in which to build a future. They can be in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, ports and maritime, construction, mining, quarrying, defence and renewables. And there are a multitude of non-industrial sectors that offer their own attractions, such as entertainment, medical, aeronautical, agricultural and the military. Roles may include working with IT and intelligent technology, mechanical engineering, design, safety, sales, marketing, administration and management.
As the world recognises International Women’s Day on 8th March, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, the global Lifting Industry proudly demonstrates how woman are progressing in exciting careers and building their futures. Among them is Emily Buck. As a Trainee Lifting Equipment Engineer / HSQ Manager at Delmark Lifting Equipment, which provides bespoke lifting solutions for the elevator industry, she offers an interesting insight into this world and the future she is building.
“Typically, my days consist of working on site alongside my engineer to install and test lifting structures within lift shafts and motor rooms,” she says. “The location varies from day to day, and it can take me to some very cool places like Buckingham Palace and even the McLaren Technology Centre, which sounds amazing until you find yourself stuck on a muddy building site in the middle of winter. It’s all swings and roundabouts or, as they say in the lift trade, it’s all ups and downs!”
Emily also handles the day-to-day accounts for the company. “It was a major learning curve as I started from having no knowledge to having sole responsibility for this critical core function of the business.”
In addition, Emily has the challenge of managing the health and safety tasks for the company. “It started with the more mundane tasks of completing various audits to ensure compliance, but when it got down to the nitty gritty, I started to really enjoy implementing all that I had learned.”
A career diversion
This is very a different path towards her future than she originally envisioned when taking A-levels in STEM subjects and gaining a place in university to study Pharmacology. But during a gap year before starting studies Emily decided to work full time at Delmark as a fitter’s mate, where she was given the opportunity to take part in lots of training. “During this time, I learned a lot and ultimately decided that I wanted to stay in this industry and declined my place at university.”
Emily hit the ground running. “During my first year at Delmark, I organised and undertook all the basic training courses for construction and got my labourers CSCS card. I then completed the LEEA Foundation course to further understand the breadth of the industry. Soon after I completed my NEBOSH diploma and began my journey into the health and safety world.”
Looking into how new software and technologies can help the business is Emily’s current focus. “From compliance to productivity, there are solutions for everything. However, to continue in my engineering career I would need to complete the Lifting Accessories Diploma, therefore rounding off my necessary training.”
This will add to Emily’s existing LEEA qualifications, as she completed the LEEA Foundation course about six months into her time working at Delmark, followed by the Supporting Structures Diploma a year later.
“Entering the industry without any prior knowledge, the Foundation course gave me a great basic understanding of the wide range of lifting equipment, and how the role I play is important to keep people safe. The Supporting Structures Diploma allowed me to solidify the knowledge that I have learned from the engineers whilst working on site as well as giving me new knowledge, allowing me to further develop my learning.”
She adds: “LEEA qualifications are the gold standard within the industry. They show that you have taken the time to learn and understand the course content and it sets you apart. Delmark has been a member of LEEA since 2005 and we have made it a requirement that all engineers will have LEEA training as competence can’t solely rely on experience, there must also be training and knowledge.” This is an important point for Emily. “After having the career diversion, managing to succeed in learning gave me a newfound confidence in myself and my ability to rise to the challenge and surprisingly enjoying it along the way.”
Training can only improve a person’s skillset, according to Emily, who advises: “Take any opportunity that is given to you to learn and make the most of it. The best advice I was given was ‘be a sponge’. Even if the knowledge wouldn’t help you in your current role, somewhere down the line that small piece of information might come in useful.”
And to anybody thinking of the Lifting Industry as a career, Emily says: “The Lifting industry is an interesting one, which I never knew existed until I started working in it. There are many little niches that are very interesting to learn about, and some extremely knowledgeable people to learn from. I would also encourage you to get involved in the industry and one of the best ways to do this is attending LiftEx. It’s a great way to learn about new technologies and products being developed and a great way to meet and learn from industry experts.”
For more information on Delmark Lifting Equipment, visit: www.delmark.co.uk . For further details of LEEA courses, visit: leeaint.com/courses.
