I left school at sixteen
Left and got a job in a local factory
I soon became aware of how important the engineer's role was actually in industry
Production didn't run without the engineer's
That's really when I first started considering
Maybe I could do something like that
I approached the company
And asked them if I could undertake
Their higher electrical engineering apprenticeship
And they said yes on the basis that you get a minimum of 5 GSCE's
So I went back to night school
And managed to gain 10 GCSE's actually at grade A
Only a year before that I'd got grade E's and D's
There were too many judgment's made about me
Not really being academic
And being a dropout
When I actually got that piece of paper
To identify that I'd got the A's
I was just gob smacked
It actually  proved to me that if I wanted to put my mind to something
That I could really, really achieve that
The most exciting thing really, is understanding how thing's work
Really understanding what electrical engineering was about
Turning, milling, understanding how to use a laithe for example
All those skills
Do support you moving forward as an engineer
Nothing would work without electricity
You couldn't even boil a kettle
It's such a critical industry
What I did enjoy about the apprentiship
Which I don't think's really promotable
Is that you do actually get a fantastic academic qualification
Throughout my apprenticeship I got an HNC in electrical engineering
That gave me the footstep up to do a degree
It's a misconception that apprentices end up staying at the lower levels in an organisation
Well I'v rewrote the rules
Im now in a senior management position
Within the national grid
The National Grid basically picks up
electricity from power stations
It moves it along the transmission lines
Send's electricity down to the distribution companies
So without the national grid we wouldn't have electricity in the home
Everyday national grid can be different
Currently I'm looking at recruiting apprentices and engineering trainees for next year
It is very enjoyable and it's really, really exciting
I hope that my story is inspiring
Because If I hadn't of took engineering then I wouldn't have had success in my life
I'd really encourage people to consider a career in engineering
