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Electrical Careers Case Studies
These people are all enjoying varied careers in the electrotechnical industry – choose an individual to read or watch more!

Dillon Jones
Apprentice Electrician
Q – How did you become an apprentice – what interested you in being an electrician in the first place?
My father was in the industry and he encouraged me into it. I also had friends who were already apprentices and they were enjoying themselves, so I was happy to try it. I liked the idea of being hands-on and learning on the job. The fact that I was earning while I was learning was a big bonus.
Q – What do you enjoy most about your training and work at the moment?
I have just finished my apprenticeship and it was the practical side I enjoyed most. I was able to work away and given responsibility to work on my own, allowing me to teach myself at my own pace. I enjoyed college too but not as much as being on a job.
Q – Can you describe a typical day to us?
I had six weeks on site followed by four weeks in college and then back on site and so on. Each day could be very different, and the projects too. I worked on a lot of new build schools. Apart from that, the one job that stands out was working at Harry Potter World, helping to install the electrics in some new stages that were being built there.
Q – What are your hopes and plans for your future career?
Now I am a qualified Electrician, I am going into the office to get some experience there for a while to see if I would like to follow a more office-based career. I will be shadowing other people and I’m not sure exactly what I will be doing yet, but I am looking forward to it. I will also carry on training with a day off each week to study for an HNC.
Q – What would you say to other young people about becoming an apprentice?
Do it! I encouraged my little brother who is now doing an apprenticeship and I’ve also recommended it to cousins and friends. It is so much better than some of my friends’ jobs where they aren’t happy and have no freedom and are constantly watched. I feel like I have good opportunities here to do what I enjoy. And, maybe I shouldn’t say this, the money is great too!

Katie Baldwin
Electrical Apprentice
Katie was guided towards an academic career at school after expressing an interest in engineering. Sixth Form College saw Katie getting increasingly frustrated with the constant theoretical work so she left and slipped into full-time employment. This wasn’t much better and she realised that she had known all along what she really wanted to do.
She researched opportunities in the electrotechnical industry and found and applied to JTL for assistance.
Since gaining my apprenticeship, I am so much happier – I haven’t looked back!” she says. She says one of the best things about being a female electrician is proving non-believers wrong…reflecting on how she was told at the outset that she couldn’t be an electrician because of her gender!
Katie’s advice to other young women wishing to start an electrical apprenticeship is disarmingly simple: “Don’t allow other people’s expectations to affect your aspirations. Just be yourself.”

John Townsend
Estimator
Q – Can you describe a typical day to us?
There is no typical day, every day is different. The estimator is the first point of contact who takes the initial enquiry from the main contractor. Once we have received all the information that we require to provide a tender (drawings, specifications, etc.) we then have to provide a cost for each element of the electrical installation based on that information we have received. This includes sending out enquiries to the nominated subcontractors for the specialist parts of the bid like the fire & security, data installation, etc. This is then inputted into our estimating software to give us an overall price that we believe we could complete the works for. The average timescale that are given to price a job is 2-4 weeks and the value can range from anything from £1M-£5M.
Once the price is submitted back to the main contractor there are always questions about what we have allowed for within our estimate and we are occasionally called to meetings with the main contractor/client to discuss our proposal and ensure that we have incorporated their requirements correctly.
There is a lot of to-ing and froing but it is good to be kept in the loop to find out how the job works out. The good thing about estimating is that you don’t really get tied down to a particular project for a long period of time meaning that there is the opportunity to work on a wide range of different projects.
Q – After your apprenticeship how did your career progress to where you are now?
When I was three and a half years into my apprenticeship, I was given the opportunity to come into the office as an assistant to the estimator. DBS needed another estimator and wanted to recruit from site because that person would have a skills background, which is really helpful for an estimator.
It was very interesting to see the company from the other side and how much goes on in the office that you don’t realise when you’re working on site. I completed my apprenticeship and joined the office team as an estimator on a permanent basis.
Q – What’s the most interesting part of your job? What do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy the variety and dealing with lots of different people. I also enjoy working to a deadline. There can be quite a lot of pressure just before a deadline, but I get satisfaction from getting the estimate done on time, and then moving on to something new.
Q – What would you say to others about joining the industry?
I would encourage them as there are lots of options to choose from and you can either follow a site-based route or office-based. You get a good understanding of the industry doing an apprenticeship and having practical knowledge can sometimes give you an advantage over office staff who come straight from school with only academic experience.

Ben White
Principal Design Engineer
Q – After your apprenticeship how has your career progressed to where you are now?
When I completed my apprenticeship, DBS was growing rapidly and looking to grow the company from within. It selected those apprentices that did well and invited us to come into the office and try out various roles. I took up the offer and had a go at estimating and then design for the next two years, during which time the company also helped me train to technician level and then onto an HNC to formalise my Design Engineer status.
It has been a natural progression; as I have become more trusted, I have been given more to do. Now, as Principal Design Engineer, I oversee the design team, organising their training and workload, and form the link between them and management.
I am lucky to be in a company that believes in organic growth and encourages us to develop and progress within the company. My next step will be up into management and I am looking forward to that.
Q – Can you describe a typical day to us?
The first thing I do every morning is to go around each of the design engineers to find out what they have done and what they are going to do next, answering any questions. Next, I talk to the contracts team to see if they have any problems I can help with. Then I get onto my own workload. A typical day can include a wide variety of work from costing and pricing, to programming and design.
I have worked on all sorts of projects, including office blocks and manufacturing plants. I seem to have found my niche now in the education sector. I started off working on university projects but now work almost entirely on Government-funded schools projects. I work on both new builds and refurbishments. We put in a tender against competitors and then carry out the design, supply and installation.
My job will start with the tender, putting the initial design and costings together and then finalising the design once we win the contract. It doesn’t stop there though, as there may be changes needed to the design as the project progresses, or the school may want extra work that we need to incorporate into the design. Every school, and every design project, is different because there is so much variation. So, I need to liaise closely with the contract engineers to keep them updated and help them overcome any unforeseen issues.
Q – What’s the most interesting part of your job? What do you enjoy the most?
There is a lot of crossover between planning, cost management and design which makes my job interesting. Doing a design isn’t just about knowing regulations and standards, there are lots of other skills involved such as planning and pricing, tendering and liaising with people. I like having independence and variation, and the challenges that brings. I really enjoy the finance side and delivering a job to a good standard and within budget. It is great when everyone is happy and it’s nice at the end to say, we did this job successfully and made a profit for the company.
Q – What would you say to others about joining the industry?
I would ask them what their expectations are and question if this matches reality. I would never have thought when I did my apprenticeship that I would end up in an office, looking after a team and have financial responsibility. I believe that this industry offers more opportunity to develop lots of different skills, compared to other industries where you are put in a box. The skills are transferrable too, such as project management and cost management. This industry has so much variation, you can take different paths and there is flexibility to cross over into other roles very easily if you want to.

Meleisha Stuart
Apprentice Electrician
Meleisha set out to be a computer programmer – studying ‘A’ levels – but quickly became bored and unfulfilled. She attended an Open Day at a local college where one of the lecturers ‘sparked’ her interest in becoming an electrician.
She attended College for two years studying Electrical Installation to level 2 and whilst studying discovered JTL. After completing her level 2, she applied for an apprenticeship with Sita UK and her journey began. She completed her apprenticeship in two years and has now worked for Sita in Kirklees for six years in total.
“Going through the apprenticeship route and choosing this industry for my career simply made sense to me – I am so happy that I took the chances that came my way,” she says.
What would Meleisha say to a young girl who’s thinking about training as an apprentice: “Don’t be scared to give a trade a try – it may just be the most enjoyable job out there – be willing to think outside the ‘toolbox’!”

Richard Harrison
Contracts Manager
Q – You carried out your apprenticeship after you’d already been working in the industry for a number of years – how did you find this?
Before I did my apprenticeship, I’d spent about 10 years working in the electrical industry and learning from experienced electricians. However, I didn’t have the formal qualifications that I needed to get an ECS gold card.
SJD Electrical employed me and sent me to college to do the electrician apprenticeship as a mature candidate. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I was one of the oldest on the course! Although I had stacks of experience, I knew little about the theory behind it, I had just followed the instructions I was given. Now I began to see the whole picture and was able to make my own calculations and decisions.
After my apprenticeship, my ambition then was to become an Approved Electrician. Being able to back up my experience with a proven qualification gave me so much more confidence. It also made me realise that there was more to being an electrician, and now I wanted that bit more!
Q – After you became an Approved Electrician, how has your career progressed to where you are now?
SJD gave me the support and opportunity to expand both my skills and experience, not just in design and installation but also sales and training. They suggested I take on the role of Contracts Manager. That had never been on my radar, but I knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of my working life on the tools.
I felt daunted at first, but quickly I came to realise that contracts managers are essentially project managers, so they need to understand everything that is going on with a job and work closely with the electrician team. This meant my experience of being an electrician was very helpful, if not essential.
There was still a lot to learn of course, such as materials sourcing, scheduling programmes, contract law, meeting budget and delivery targets – all sorts of new skills which have been challenging at times, but each adds to my experience.
Q – Can you describe a typical day to us?
Each day I need to chase any outstanding information that I need for upcoming or ongoing projects. Then there’s a variety of items that might need attention. Today, I have to source materials, get comparative costs from several suppliers to make sure we stay within budget, then order them and arrange delivery to site. I also need to produce a project programme to identify each project stage and what’s required in terms of materials, labour and time.
I also have to liaise with team foremen to organise the electricians who are needed on site and make plans for any unforeseen delays or changes to the design.
Q – What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on?
Some of the most interesting projects I have worked on have been classified, like the one we did for the Redbull F1 team, so I can’t tell you about those!
I juggle several projects at the same time, at least five at the moment, the biggest being a £2million prison contract at HMP Woodhill. This is an old building where we are installing both a fire alarm and panic alarm system, plus upgrading the ventilation system. Being a Category A prison, this isn’t a normal job at all and the security is very high.
Q – What do you enjoy the most about your job?
It’s interesting going to different places and meeting new people, but the real satisfaction is seeing a project through to completion. I enjoy the process of planning and developing with the estimating and design teams, overcoming challenges as we go and then seeing how what started as an idea on paper turns out in reality. It’s great to look back and say, ‘we did that’!
Another part of my job I enjoy is training and mentoring; I’ve trained quite a few apprentices over the years and it’s great to help them by passing on my knowledge and seeing how they progress.

Matt Wilson
Chief Executive
At 16 years old Matt had no job and £100 in his pocket – but now he is a chief executive of his own highly successful business.
After finishing school Matt became unemployed and was trying to find his way. His dad convinced him to take an apprenticeship in electrical engineering, but at the same time, he started the company that would become Crosby Communications. He’d had a keen interest in electronics from an early age; the budding entrepreneur in him hunting out and fixing old TVs and radios and selling them in the local newspaper, and so the apprenticeship seemed like the next logical, and safe, step.
Once Crosby Communications was successfully up and running, Matt turned his attention towards self-development. With the business expanding, Matt decided it was time to get recognition for his growing management and technical skills. So he became a member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology, one of the largest science, engineering, and technology institutions in the world.
His next achievement is to achieve Chartered Engineer status, which he has now applied for. “I’ve wanted to get Chartered for a very long time,” he explains. “When I was younger I felt it was way out of my league, but as I’ve become more experienced and picked up some qualifications along the way, I wanted to go for it.”