Introduction
My name is Liam Wilson, 30 years old living in the rural countryside of South Wales. I have a passion for technology, motorbikes and the sciences. In my spare time I can usually be found hiking up a mountain or finding some back roads to have fun on with a bike.
Previous Work History
I started off my working life early on as a farm hand/laborer, working for local farmers and businessmen after school and on weekends doing odds and ends. In west Wales there wasn’t a lot of work available so I had to take what jobs I could which included roles such as a Butcher, Carer and Builder.
For the last 7 years I have been working in the electrical trade, primarily on commercial and industrial sites. Starting off as a mate/improver, 6 months in and I had already acquired a handful of qualifications allowing me to run solar panel installation jobs travelling across Britain. After 2 years, I set up my own company and started to work on bigger projects which also required the hiring of sub-contractors and PAYE employees. The work continued up until 2019 when lockdown hit and I was forced to downsize to just working by myself.
Over lockdown I took on a few contracts but started to realize the stresses of jumping from job to job was taking its toll, not knowing if there was another contract to go to once the current one ends.
Training
I had already been working as an electrician for many years and I had acquired my JIB gold card. I also decided to go down the Mature Candidate Assessment route, sitting all the written exams, practical exams and portfolio that would be expected of an apprentice, along with the AM2. At the same time I sat my Level 3 testing and inspecting in order to get the Approved card. I have sat both the 17th and 18th edition wiring regulation exams.
In 2018 I decided to try my hand at Electrical Engineering, sitting my HNC at a local college.
Since then I have sat Compex courses Ex01-04 Gas and Vapours and Ex05-06 Combustible Dust courses which have greatly helped to progress my career.
Starting work for C&P
I started working with C&P Engineering around March 2021 as a Hazardous Area Inspector on a sub-contracting basis.
In April 2022 I was offered a full-time position within the company. I found that I enjoyed the variety of work offered to me, carrying out DSEAR inspections, fixed wire inspections, remedial works within and outside of DSEAR areas.
Not only did I find I enjoyed the variety of the work, but I liked that I had the choice to either stay in one place or move from site to site as and when required.
Working for C&P
I can safely say that I don’t have any regrets moving away from sub-contracting. C&P as a company offers the quality and personal care of a small company, but has a client base and the work load of a much larger organisation.
Within the administrative staff, there is a wealth of knowledge that you can call on at any time, the company seems eager to provide above and beyond levels of training and ongoing support which I appreciate very much, which is uncommon in my previous experience.
The administrative staff, management and supervisors are all willing to help and support you which I find very refreshing and helps instill confidence.
The Future with C&P
I look forward to my future with C&P as there seems to be some progressive expansion within the company which will hopefully allow for development for me in a number of roles such as management, teaching or design.
I would like to think I could go in any of these directions if the opportunity arose. I have recently finished my level 4 electrical design course and have a growing knowledge of requirements within DSEAR areas. I have the competency to manage teams and I’m increasingly becoming more client facing, so management may hopefully be an option. I also enjoy sharing my learned skills, helping shape apprentices into competent electricians. Moving this passion to the classroom may also be an option.
Ultimately, I’m not sure what my role over the next few years will be, but I am very confident that I will still be with C&P Engineering in the future.