Celebrating 18 Years of SIMIAN

Break out the champagne! This month (November 2023), we are celebrating 18 years of successful trading – a significant milestone in the ever-evolving landscape of the construction training and support services.

Founded in November 2005 by Simon Hughes and Ian Fyall, SIMIAN was born from a desire to revolutionise the Safety Consultancy market by creating a support service  that concentrated on providing specialist advice to the scaffolding industry.

Over the years that have followed since 2005, the business has experienced rapid growth and a growing customer base, which was founded on the opening of our Warrington training centre and SIMIAN Head Quarters, in 2007, followed by our Weston-super-Mare Centre in 2019, and LASC in Leytonstone 2021.

In pursuit of our commitment to supporting industry demand and developing the workforce of the future, we expanded our services with our scaffolder apprenticeship programme in 2008, and this grown to become the largest scaffolder apprenticeship provision in the UK.

The rapid growth of the business saw Dave Randles (who had initially been engaged on a consultancy basis as a specialist scaffolding H&S Advisor) promoted to the Board in 2008, alongside our Commercial Director, Jackie Thomason, with Ian retiring in 2019, to leave the existing Board of 3!

Our first 18 years has been defined by our relentless pursuit of excellence in every aspect of our operations. Whether it’s delivering training, providing consultancy services, or apprenticeships, we always strive to work to the highest of standards, setting the bar for the sector.

When asked about the biggest learnings from his 18 years of SIMIAN, our Managing Director Simon said

I am most pleased with the positive impact SIMIAN has had, and continues to have, within the Scaffolding industry. We’ve had a part to play in changing the industry for the better and I am confident that the work we have done over the years has played a part in saving lives in the industry.

We are now acknowledged by many specialist H&S litigators as the go-to organisation for expert witness services, and that is a fantastic endorsement. On top of that, our consultancy and training services are regarded as being amongst the very best in the UK, so that is also a source of immense pride.

Our journey could not have happened without our dedicated and professional team, and I would like to say a special thank you to them all. We have always been dedicated to helping people to develop and grow and this has been a key to the success of the business.”

We now employ over 80 team members, across 3 dedicated training centres and field-based advisors and coaches in the UK. Over the years, we have supported over 150,000 learners, and very many commercial customers. We’re also extremely pleased that some of our first customers from 18 years ago, including   Allied Scaffolding and the ALTRAD Group, are still using SIMIAN services today! That’s something to celebrate! The future looks bright as we continue to grow and develop other opportunities to expand in to other disciplines and industries.

Happy birthday to us! Here’s to next 18!