Studied Electrical Level 3 C&G

Currently working as an electrician
for Butler West Electrical

Age: 21
Course completed: 2011

What do you enjoy most about your job?
It's different every day and I'm always problem solving and coming across new challenges. The people I work with are great.

What responsibilities do you have?
At the moment me and my colleague are running a job in Oxford. Running a couple of jobs actually.

What are the most important pieces of equipment you need to start up?
Wire strippers, screwdrivers and a hammer. Definitely.

How did your course help you progress onto your chosen career?
The theory turned out to be really useful because you can relate to it on-site. It’s a lot different doing it on a bit of board to doing it in a house!

What qualifications do you need most to qualify as an electrician?
You need your Level 3 and they are now asking for the Testing Certificate as well, which I haven’t got yet but want to do. It's a hard course but you need to know your testing stuff.

What about GCSE wise?
English, Maths and Science are important, definitely. If you get all those you can skip a year, cut out Level 1 and go straight to Level 2.

What's the best job you've been to?
I don’t know really, I’ve done so many. We did a few schools in Witham and that was great – it was all metal trayed and armored, stuff I’ve never really done before.

How did you know that electrical was the industry for you?
I didn’t, actually. I did day release at school to come to Harlow College to try out all the trades. Every couple of months we swapped throughout the year so we did everything and I felt electrical was the one for me.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to be an electrician?
Just make sure it's something you really want to do because there's no point in doing it and then getting to a certain point and thinking, this isn’t for me. So you just need to make sure it is something you want to do and work hard at it.

Is it better to work for a company or work independently?
Independently, I would say. Go to companies first and build up your experience, because there's nothing like getting stuck and not knowing what to do so, I would say build up your experience with companies and then go on to do it by yourself later on.

What skills do you think are important for an electrician to have?
Team player, always, because nine times out of ten you will be working with other people. And confidence as well, because the last thing the client wants is someone who's a bit shy and not really knowing what they're doing.

What qualities do you think you have to have to be a good electrician?
Personality goes a long way, and just being a team player really. Just doing your bit and working hard.

Lastly, where do you see yourself in five years time?
In that time I'd like to have been in a few other companies and maybe considering working for myself.