I am retired having worked in several industrial maintenance engineering roles over my working life being responsible for apprentices (amongst other things) over the last twenty years.  When I started this I incorrectly assumed that the training from me would be mainly technical but have learnt over the years that the technical bit is only the tip of the iceberg!


I found that time after time, new apprentices would come from school without the faintest idea of how to behave at work.  Some sharp lessons had to be learnt here.  The idea that as an engineer we always have a "customer" (production department, anyone with something that doesn't work, the local council etc., etc.).  The customer has a problem and it is this that we need to address.  The job is not completed until the customer's problem is solved.  I.E. you spend several hours doing a fantastic job technically and then spoil it completely because you spoke badly to the customer.


I found it challenging to teach an apprentice why you should always stick to the regs and do a neat job, even though the customer often wouldn't notice any difference.  The electrical installation will mostly be hidden and whatever the appliance is, it will still work just the same even when the work is done cowboy fashion.  Pride in one's work and a culture of safety needs to be imparted.  I tried to make them understand that an electrician known for being thorough and not cutting corners will always be in demand, even though in the short term things just appear to take longer!


I am very pleased that my son now has his own electrical engineering business and has a culture of work that I would be proud of.   The teaching stopped being all one way a long time ago now.  I am still pleased to help him out with report writing and procedural matters, but as regards technical it's mostly him to me now as he develops a more thorough understanding of modern technology.


I think to sum things up I have found that as I have got older I have found that is is the "softer" issues which seem to have become more to the fore.

I am retired having worked in several industrial maintenance engineering roles over my working life being responsible for apprentices (amongst other things) over the last twenty years.  When I started this I incorrectly assumed that the training from me would be mainly technical but have learnt over the years that the technical bit is only the tip of the iceberg!


I found that time after time, new apprentices would come from school without the faintest idea of how to behave at work.  Some sharp lessons had to be learnt here.  The idea that as an engineer we always have a "customer" (production department, anyone with something that doesn't work, the local council etc., etc.).  The customer has a problem and it is this that we need to address.  The job is not completed until the customer's problem is solved.  I.E. you spend several hours doing a fantastic job technically and then spoil it completely because you spoke badly to the customer.


I found it challenging to teach an apprentice why you should always stick to the regs and do a neat job, even though the customer often wouldn't notice any difference.  The electrical installation will mostly be hidden and whatever the appliance is, it will still work just the same even when the work is done cowboy fashion.  Pride in one's work and a culture of safety needs to be imparted.  I tried to make them understand that an electrician known for being thorough and not cutting corners will always be in demand, even though in the short term things just appear to take longer!


I am very pleased that my son now has his own electrical engineering business and has a culture of work that I would be proud of.   The teaching stopped being all one way a long time ago now.  I am still pleased to help him out with report writing and procedural matters, but as regards technical it's mostly him to me now as he develops a more thorough understanding of modern technology.


I think to sum things up I have found that as I have got older I have found that is is the "softer" issues which seem to have become more to the fore.