On Apprentice Electrician, we want to show the diverse range of successful careers that can be built from an electrical apprenticeship. This is just the start for you and the skills you are learning now will unlock plenty of exciting opportunities in the future.
In this post, Darren Staniforth, who is now the Technical Development Manager at Certsure, reflects on his time as an apprentice and how it has influenced his career. He tells us about some of the key lessons he learned from his apprenticeship and offers some advice for young people who are working on theirs right now.
Darren Staniforth, Technical Development Manager, Certsure
“I’ve enjoyed over 28 years in this amazing industry and I put it all down to having a brilliant apprenticeship that gave me the foundations to build a great career.
From the start of my apprenticeship, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a wide range of wiring systems across a large number of environments. I could be working with electricians on domestic rewires one week and dairy farms the next.
Sometimes, I would find myself working in secure locations or schools where extra care was needed because of the different risks involved.
In all of my jobs, apart from learning electrical and engineering skills, I think the most valuable skill I’ve learnt is just how powerful and important communication is. Good communication skills are key if you are going to motivate individuals and teams to achieve results.
Enjoying good open communication with a client can lead to more long-term work and a better relationship can result in bigger and better jobs. Poor communications can restrict your individual promotion opportunities or could hinder the progress of a project.
One of my former senior managers used to say to me: “What you say is not important, the important part is how you say it”. In many ways, I think he’s right but I still fall back on my electrotechnical training to make sure what I’m saying is right.
If I don’t know, I ask. That’s another good quality I wish all electrical apprentices would adopt.”
See Darren in action here: