Leicester College’s T-Level students found out more about the electrical industry, apprenticeships and employability at an interactive ‘Future Faradays’ event that took place recently.
The Future Faradays programme is an initiative from electrical industry charity National Electrotechnical Training (NET) that aims to inspire and inform full time electrical students about the industry, the proper way to become fully qualified and the opportunities available to them. During the event, around 50 students heard informative talks from Stuart Wiles and Lucy Willett, final year electrical apprentices at Leicester City Council, qualified electrician Stephanie Ward from PA Housing Association, project engineer Miah McCullagh from Elmleigh Electrical Services and Neil McManus, Leicester College’s Construction T-Level programme manager.
After the presentations, students had the opportunity to interact directly with each speaker during networking sessions to explore each topic in more detail.
The students’ own presentation skills were also put to the test after they were set a challenging task to improve classroom lighting efficiency. Students had been working in teams over the previous two weeks and, at the event, presented their research and solutions to the industry speakers. After each team were judged on the quality of their presentation, teamwork, research and solution, the top two winning teams were presented with a range of prizes from CK Tools and Scolmore.
Commenting on the benefits of the event, Neil McManus said: “The event provided a great opportunity for the learners to speak with employers and apprentices and hear first-hand what life is like as an apprentice and what skills employers look for in an employee. The team task was also brilliant for allowing the learners to showcase their talents and presentation skills. All students received excellent Information, advice and guidance on opportunities and routes within the electrical industry and the event has given them some real-life experiences and confidence in what can be achieved with hard work.”
Find out more about the Future Faradays initiative at www.netservices.org.uk/future-faradays
