A Day in the Life: Electrician

What does your work as an electrician entail?

From breweries to water companies and car factories, all large industrial projects have electrical systems that need installing, testing, troubleshooting and maintaining, and this is what I do on a daily basis. Ultimately, it’s my job to ensure that whatever their focus, plants have robust, efficient and future-proof electrical infrastructure in place that allows them to stay at the forefront of developments in their industry.

How did you find your way into the electrical contracting world?

Like many school leavers, I didn’t have a strong idea of what I wanted to do career-wise, so like a lot of my peers, I ended up going onto sixth-form. This all changed when I attended one of their careers days and spoke to a national training provider, who opened my eyes to the benefits of a career in the electrical industry. The practical nature instantly appealed to me, and it wasn’t long before I was taking my first round of exams. I.C. Electrical offered me my first ever job and I’ve now been part of the business for five years!

How did you decide that being an electrician was for you?

I’ve always been interested in how things work. In lots of ways, being an electrician is like being a detective, requiring you to join the puzzle pieces together and overcome obstacles to find the best solution for the client. The job security was also an important factor. As people often say, we will always need electricians!

What do you love about your job?

Without doubt, it’s the people. It’s very true that if you don’t enjoy your work, you’re in for a tough time and while we obviously take our work seriously, there’s always a lot of laughter onsite too. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of being an electrician too. For example, imagine you have to install a piece of cable from point A to point B, and come up against a piece of pipework which wasn’t shown on the plan. My work is rarely straightforward, but definitely never boring!

Are there any challenging aspects to your job?

As specs often vary significantly between different sites, electricians have to be highly adaptable. For example, after getting used to working a certain way on a project, you may have to change your approach entirely to use completely different materials, metals and cables. This is especially the case for industrial engineers. While the electrical systems of houses are generally the same, industrial sites are far more varied and complex, so can require a bit more thinking power!

What are the best bits about life at I.C. Electrical?

A culture of electrical contracting excellence, investment in developing staff and a friendly and helpful team. Working onsite involves meeting and working with other contracting firms on a day-to-day basis, so the pride I.C. Electrical places in delivering an outstanding level of work, first time, really stands out. It’s also a business which adopts a real ‘grass roots’ approach to nurturing talent, giving those embarking on their careers plenty of opportunities to develop their skills and progress.

Any advice to those thinking about following in your footsteps?

Coming straight out of school into an apprenticeship role can be a steep learning curve, but it’s important to be patient with yourself. If you show respect to your team and approach each new task with an open mind, you’ll learn a lot, even if some areas take time to get right!

For more information about career opportunities at I.C. Electrical, please contact info@icelectrical.co.uk.