The lifting industry has implemented a range of programmes and initiatives to attract new workers, both young and experienced. Daniel Searle reports.

GH’s R&D director Pablo Pedrós, who will oversee two award schemes to help bring new talent into the lifting industry. Photo Josetxo Marin
GH’s R&D director Pablo Pedrós, who will oversee two award schemes to help bring new talent into the lifting industry. Photo Josetxo Marin
Some of the current GH team at work.
Some of the current GH team at work.
Turkey’s Güralp Vinç, a manufacturer of overhead cranes and more, is taking on engineering interns.
Turkey’s Güralp Vinç, a manufacturer of overhead cranes and more, is taking on engineering interns.

The issue of attracting new workers to the lifting equipment sector has been attracting increasing attention in recent years, just as it has in many other sectors within engineering. A generation of trained and skilled staff are in the process of retiring, having worked in the industry all their lives, and in the age of digital technology, working out how to encourage potential workers, both young and older, to consider a career in the lifting sector can require careful thought.

Thankfully, the industry has long been alert to the problem as it appeared on the horizon, and a number of schemes and initiatives have been set up across the world to raise the profile of the lifting industry and to make it more straightforward for new staff to join.

Spanish crane manufacturer GH Cranes & Components has launched Olea Premio (Prize) GH Cranes, a programme designed to assist both college students and entrepreneurs in entering the lifting industry.

One branch of the award scheme invites college students from around the world to submit development ideas involving GHmanufactured products such as bridges, cranes, and lifting machinery. The award includes a $7,000 prize for the winning idea and a $4,500 prize for the runner-up, as well as a trip for the winner to one of GH’s international branch offices to experience the lifting industry first-hand.

The scheme also includes the ‘Start-Up Contest’ programme, through which GH will analyse entrepreneurial initiatives submitted by business leaders, based around a present or future company, with a view to providing market access. GH has established security systems, automation, digitalisation and data analysis as priorities—all of which fit into the context of Industry 4.0.

Through the programme, GH will analyse selected projects and may choose to invest in them, or seek an international investor, ultimately signing a preferential commercial agreement with the start-up.

The initiative is backed by various institutions, representing geographic and thematic areas: Goierri Valley, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, BIC Gipuzkoa, CMAA (Crane Manufacturers Association of America), TECNUN, UPV/EHU and MU.

The award scheme is part of the industry’s important efforts to attract new talent, says Pablo Pedrós, R&D director at GH: “At first sight, for college and university students, the material handling industry, and lifting industry in particular, does not have the same ‘glamour’ as other industries like automotive, energy, and aerospace. In some ways, it is even seen as an old-fashioned industry where a senior workforce dedicates their time to designing heavy steel structures to move on top of workshops.

Turkish company Güralp Vinç, a manufacturer of various lifting equipment including overhead cranes, jib cranes and gantry cranes, has taken on interns from Salford University in the UK at its facility in Izmir. It’s important to encourage young engineers into the industry, explains Gulcin Cicek at the company:

The lifting industry has implemented a range of programmes and initiatives to attract new workers