An Electrical Work Experience Story: William
/Supporting Young People
As a company, JCW welcomes the family of staff who request work experience opportunities. We believe that the community benefits as a whole when we commit to supporting young people’s professional development, as this helps build a skilled workforce for the future, boosts morale, and therefore our social responsibility. We are certainly having a summer filled with work experience weeks and in early July, we had the pleasure of hosting another for William, son of our Devonshire based HVAC engineer, Martin.
Where it all began
This opportunity came about when William set out to look for a work experience week. He knew that Dad, Martin has worked for us for a while and have only heard good things about JCW as a company. Excited by the prospect, William asked if he could arrange something. And we said - yes!
William is currently studying his A-level Math’s, Physics and Photography. William has always had a keen interest in seeing “how things work”, so it’s no surprise when he told us that he could see himself as an engineer “since I was a little kid”.
Planning the agenda for the week
William was set up to work with our Plymouth based, Fire Alarm and Electrical Service engineer, Darren. Darren planned a number of jobs to complete, so that William could experience the varied nature of electrical engineering. Due to the sometimes reactive nature of Darren’s maintenance responsibilities, William would also learn that plans can be changed last minute, to allow for an immediate response to emergency calls outs.
Darren used to be in the military and has had previous experience as a trainer, for the operation of remote controlled bomb disposal robots. To take someone on with no knowledge, and to teach them a complex subject, without overloading them with to much information can be difficult, but mentoring is not something new to Darren, and he says it’s a “rewarding task”!
Darren’s favourite trade tip to anyone ‘on the tools’ is to “invest in good quality and correct tools”, life is easier when the job can be done quicker and to a higher standard. An important part of the process as an engineer, Darren says “You will make mistakes, and you will fail, particularly if you work with cutting edge technologies, processes, or systems. You should use these situations as an opportunity to learn, develop, and improve.”
We caught up with William and Darren after the week and asked:
What did you enjoy most about your work experience week?
Darren found William a helpful student, interested in learning, picked up information quickly, and was engaged throughout the week. William enjoyed the insight into the job that he might choose to do in the future, as well as learning about the different types of electrical installations and components.
Did the experience meet your expectations?
“There were no real challenges, William was a pleasure to work with, we both enjoyed the week and look forward to him coming along in the future as an Apprentice to learn how to become an Electrical Engineer. William picked up new skills quickly and wasn't afraid to ask questions when he was unsure on how something should have been done.”
Darren
Did the experience confirm or change your career aspirations?
William walks away from the work experience week having learnt about electrical fault finding, general electrical knowledge and about electrical installations.
“I will apply these skills towards my career goals, it gave me an understanding of this career and confirms that I want to pursue this line of work. I enjoyed the technical challenge and many other aspects of this work”
William
Bright Future for Everyone
At JCW, we believe in nurturing young talent and providing them with opportunities to explore their interests. By fostering a supportive environment where young people can learn from experienced professionals like Darren, we are paving the way for a new generation of engineers who will shape the world with their own brilliance.
If you are interested in a career in engineering, administration, management or finance. We have an office location near you: in Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Ipswich and Leicester. Get in touch to learn more about our current opportunities.
