Reece lights the way with career path that makes the grade in STEM

A young Brighton manager is stepping up as a company ambassador to highlight the career opportunities in technology at a leading East Sussex-based international business.

Reece Mills, aged 24, is a model example of the opportunities that are available for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) at Hanover, based in Lewes, which has a global reputation for high technology passenger information systems for the public transport sector.

Specialising in LED display technology, audio-visual passenger information, automatic vehicle positioning, geo-localisation and fleet management, the company

employs over 200 people in Lewes, as well as almost 100 additional staff across the globe.

Since its launch in 1985, it has enjoyed sustained growth to become a global business, with subsidiaries in continental Europe, the Middle East, North America and Australia, and partnering agents in other overseas territories throughout the world.

To maintain its market-leading position, Hanover relies on attracting and retaining a dynamic workforce with a STEM background from across the region.

Now Reece – who joined as an apprentice following A levels in electronics, graphics and physics – is one of a number of people in the company telling his career story on the Hanover website, newsletter and publicity material, to help get the message across.

Reece said: “I joined Hanover as an 18-year-old and have never looked back.

“After A levels I decided university was not for me. I wanted more of a vocational approach and once I started at Hanover, I could see the opportunities straight away.

“It is amazing how much technology goes into what we do and there’s a good deal of thinking ahead, planning and problem solving.

“There’s a huge sense of achievement and that’s a really nice feeling, as opposed to just turning up each day to do a job.

“As an apprentice, I gained a thorough grounding in the workings of the company, and I was really drawn to the people and processes.

“I was offered a production controller role and took up more management aspects and responsibilities and now I manage 20 staff.”

As part of his training at Hanover, Reece completed an HNC in Manufacturing Engineering at Crawley College, West Sussex.

He added: “At Hanover we have a great story to tell.

“Across our industry, the impact of what we can do to help our customers is widely recognised and we are strong at service and support.

“It’s been an incredible journey for me so far and, in the future, I’d be very keen to work in production in other countries, working with these customer-focused values and continuing to raise the bar.”

Sean Winter, Operations Manager said: “Talented people like Reece are absolutely key to our company’s success and we are delighted he is sharing his experience at Hanover to support us in the search for new talent, and to promote the value of STEM learning in the East Sussex area.”