Q&A – high voltage electrical apprenticeship

We had a quick chat with James Adshead, a Power Apprentice at Morson Projects.

We wanted to find out what attracted him to engineering, why he chose an apprenticeship and how it’s going six months in.

What attracted you to engineering?

I was initially attracted to engineering during school when I started my search for a career path I wanted to follow. I decided to allocate a lot of my time to try and experience what a career in engineering would be like, as I found the entire process of everything from the initial designs and briefs to final manufacture of components and assembly fascinating. When I was completing my EES award In College my favourite aspect of the award was when I had the opportunity to design a solution to a problem from scratch taking into account a variety of factors and to a high level of detail. After completing some extra curricular activities like this throughout my time in High School and college I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in engineering.

Why did you choose an Apprenticeship?

I chose an Apprenticeship rather than university because I wanted to get into industry as soon as I could. I would be able to work with a company whilst also furthering my educational qualifications and gaining years of experience at the same time in my field of work.

What has your experience of an apprenticeship been?

So far it has been fantastic, I have been at Morson Projects for six months now and I’ve been able to spend time on Ematics helping out with the Drax job whereas now I am spending some time back on the Low Voltage section doing work for one of our customers Electricity North West. Even though I am yet to complete my first year of my apprenticeship I have learnt so much and my skills have been expanded more than I thought they would. For example, I am becoming much more efficient and accurate when using CAD and also learning so much about the industry.

Tell us abit about the industry you’re currently working in…

The electrical power industry covers the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power. There are several different teams here on the power section and I am currently working in the Low Voltage section. The Low voltage section deals with anything up to 132KV and works with client companies such as ENW. One of the things the LV department deals with is fitting protection to certain circuits and replacing switchgear.

There is also a High Voltage section that deals with higher voltages above 132KV and also the Primary Layouts section that deal with the design, installation and site support for HV equipment required for HV substations and switchgear.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to others?

I would highly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone looking to get into engineering – the experience you gain on the job is invaluable and you get to study towards qualifications that aid your career part time. It gives you a step into industry and a fantastic foundation to build all your skills and knowledge throughout the apprenticeship duration as well as further into your career.

Inspired? Want to make your idea into a career? Well, read how two of our young engineers turned their dreams into reality through apprenticeships.