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A week in the life of… an apprentice electrician
As National Apprenticeship Week begins, Selda Ponari talks us through a week in her life as an apprentice electrician at Bournville Village Trust
Monday
Mondays are my college day, so I start the week off studying for my electrical apprenticeship.
From 9am to 12pm I do practical work to get ready for my exams at the end of my first year. At 12pm I have lunch in the college canteen; sometimes I’ll get a meal deal from Asda as it’s easy.
In the afternoon I have theory classes from 1pm to 5.15pm, where I learn about health and safety, the science and maths side of being an electrician, and the regulations.
Tuesday
I drive to work at Bournville Village Trust’s maintenance depot. When I arrive, I look at my personal digital assistant to see who I’m working with and what we’re doing today. This morning I’m with Chris to carry out an electrical test in a customer’s home.
We travel to the customer’s home together and I watch Chris carry out the test. He talks me through the process, and I like being able to relate it back to what I’ve been learning at college. The test takes two to three hours and then we go back to the depot for lunch.
I need to sort out some new uniform, but the supplier we usually order from mainly stocks clothes for men. After a bit of searching, we find a more suitable supplier that I can order my new trousers and boots from.
In the afternoon, I work with Chris and Angel (another apprentice) fitting a new fire alarm system to the garages that store our grounds maintenance plant and vehicles.
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Wednesday
I’m with Chris again today, and we’re working on the electrics for a water pump in a supported property for people at risk of homelessness.
The electrics are in the basement so we spend a lot of time going up and down the stairs, carrying and fetching the equipment and materials we need for the job. I watch Chris and take in what he does.
The job takes up most of the day, so there’s just time to clean out the van before I finish at 4.30pm.
“Working on empty properties is one of my favourite things to do as I get to do more practical work”
Thursday
This morning I drive to the depot to meet Darren, who I’m working with today, and we travel straight to an empty home that is being prepared to re-let. I fit new pendants and light switches, which takes me until lunchtime. Darren and I meet up with another electrician, Neil, who is working just around the corner to catch up and eat lunch together.
In the afternoon, I fit more sockets and then we carry out an electrical test as everything we’ve changed must be checked to ensure it’s safe. Working on empty properties is one of my favourite things to do as I get to do more practical work.
Friday
This morning I’m helping to upgrade the electrics on an older property to make sure they’re safe. While my colleagues Mike and Darren work on the wiring, Angel and I follow behind putting up new pendants and light switches. Only part of the roof void is accessible, so it takes a while to complete the job even with four of us.
It’s really nice to be able to work and catch up with Angel as we’re both in the same position.
I finish at 3.30pm on a Friday, an hour earlier than usual, so I go straight to the gym. I really like the gym as it keeps me happy and helps my mental well-being, too.
A week in the life series
Our ‘A week in the life’ series features housing professionals talking through what they do in their job on a day-to-day basis.
Find out about the different challenges housing workers in a variety of roles face in a given week.
We aim to feature staff from housing associations, ALMOs, local authorities and more.
Click here to nominate yourself or a colleague for inclusion
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