Meet the Electrical Apprentice of the Year Runner-Up!
Chris Davenport, an apprentice at Aldershot College, was recently named runner-up in the SPARKS Magazine Electrical Apprentice of the Year competition.
Photos by SNG Publishing
Chris was selected for the competition after winning an internal challenge at the College. He won the SPARKS regional heats in February, qualifying him for a place in the competition final.
He told us: “I was definitely nervous going into the competition. I’ve never done any competitions before so it was all new to me. At the competition heats I left thinking I’d blown it. I wasn’t happy with what I’d done but the judges decided the quality of my work was the best out of all the competitors.”
“For the heats we were wiring singles and twins, doing trunking, mitres, and bending conduit. I haven’t done much with conduit before with my company, so it was a bit more challenging and a new skill for me.”
“When I found out I’d won the heats I was taken back and felt great that I had a chance to prove myself in the final. It gave me confidence to know my work was good enough to compete.”
The final involved even more electrical wiring challenges, with vaguer instructions to challenge contestants further. Entrants were judged on their both speed of completion and the quality of their work.
“In the final there was some really complicated bits of light switching which I love doing, so this gave me a good boost. I was really happy with the outcome of the competition, especially having never worked with conduit before. Having done the competition I’m definitely going to take on more challenges and try new things that I didn’t think I could do before.”
Photos by SNG Publishing – Chris (right) with Programme Manager for Construction Richard Taylor (middle)
For his win, Chris was awarded a £500 cheque and has won £500 worth of Schneider Electrical tools for the College.
“The College has been really supportive with everything. My teacher Richard has been great – he’s really methodical and makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing. It’s been brilliant studying here and I’ve really learned a lot.”
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