Grabbing the opportunity to build a great career in lifting
A chance move from a very different starting point resulted in Chase Sabatine building his future in the Lifting Industry, and winning the Cyril McCaully Memorial Prize for LEEA’s Manual Lifting Machines course in 2024 on the way to progressing his career.
The Lifting Industry may not have been foremost in Chase’s mind during his studies at the University of Ottawa in Canada, where he gained an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in 2014. After graduation, he was able to work in social services, including work in homeless shelters and on child welfare investigations. However, it was following a move to Scotland, that he was offered an opportunity to work in a completely different world, that of the Lifting Industry. And he has continued to do so ever since.
“By chance I met someone shortly after moving to Scotland who was looking for help as an assistant in the installation of lifting equipment,” explains Chase of his move into the Lifting Industry. “I jumped at the opportunity, which quickly lead to training for my LEEA qualifications.”
Chase has big ambitions for his career in lifting and sees LEEA training as a vital part of his career progression. “I would like to advance within the industry, one day focusing more on the training or health and safety side of things. I think LEEA courses, regardless of the subject, offer a great foundation of knowledge on which to build, with hands-on experience.”
He adds: “I think lifting is incredibly safety conscious. I think it has to be as the stakes and risks are so high (pun intended). I think having this as a base leads to a more methodical and thorough approach in everyday work. This is great because you know that everyone shares this common goal of care in their work. My advice would be to always think of that base of safety.”
The LEEA diplomas Chase has under his belt are the Lifting Equipment General course, which he gained in 2022, followed by the Manual Lifting Machines (MLM) course in 2024. The MLM Diploma qualification is essential for anyone engaged in the testing, inspection, examination and repair/maintenance of manual lifting machines. “LEEA qualifications are industry leading, and I want to continue learning all I can of every aspect within lifting,” says Chase.
When he took the MLM course, Chase was working at Gap Group as a lifting engineer in the company’s hire workshop in Glasgow. GAP Hire Solutions is the UK’s largest independent hire company, with 10 divisions and almost 200 locations across the country. At GAP, Chase would inspect, test, repair and certify hire lifting equipment. This includes everything from slings and shackles to material lifts and gantry systems.
Lifting careers, building futures
On 12 June 2025, Global Lifting Awareness Day (GLAD) provided a launchpad to inspire the next generation to explore careers in lifting. Themed on ‘lifting careers, building futures’, it was dedicated to tackling the growing skills shortages across the lifting industry, promoting practical tools to attract new talent. LEEA training has certainly helped Chase in his job and in boosting his career. “It has both given me more confidence in my day-to-day examinations, but also corrected certain habits that had been picked up prior to the course.”
At the end of March, Chase took the next step in his lifting career by starting a new role elsewhere in the Lifting Industry. Believing lifting to be a great industry to work in, he offers the following advice to others considering building their future in the sector: “I consider Lifting to be a close-knit community of sorts – everyone seems to know each other in one way or another, and we all share in common this niche industry.”
Find out more about Gap Hire Solutions at: www.gap-group.co.uk. Find out more about LEEA Training at leeaint.com/learning.
