Trainee electrical engineer Alex Crawford at ECS Power and Control Ltd, based in Horsford.

Electrical engineer

Answers supplied by Alex Crawford, a trainee engineer for ECS Power and Control Ltd. ECS has been in business for 22 years based in Horsford just north of Norwich. The company is involved with the design, manufacture, commissioning, maintenance and installation of heating, ventilation, power distribution and related control systems. The company has currently 56 employees with 12 of them attending Norwich City College on a variety of electrical training courses including City & Guilds, NVQs and HNCs.

What does the job entail?
An engineer has to interpret the client's requirements from specifications and drawings, using the underpinning knowledge gained from college and specific on-the-job training and then produce a set of schematic drawings to represent the clients’ requirements. Liaison with all levels of personnel i.e. architects, clients, end users, manufacturing, AutoCAD operators, electricians is part of the job. You will be required to travel to site for meetings, liaison with other trades and demonstrations to end users.

What skills and qualifications are needed?
Five GCSEs at grade C or above to get on to the modern apprenticeship scheme or a foundation modern apprenticeship, progressing on to the advanced modern apprenticeship, ending up with a minimum of NVQ3 in electrical engineering. Progression to HNC and degree level is also possible.

What type of person will fit in?
Someone who has the ability to get on with others, an analytical and logical mind, and enjoys being part of a team.

What are the pluses and minuses of the job?
Each job is unique and requires considerable effort to get the right solution to provide value for money. You gain a tremendous satisfaction in finding the right solution and achieve a sense of pride as each job leaves the factory with your name as the contact for the rest of the life of that control panel. The timescale of projects are reducing, adding greater pressure to finish the job on time. A large percentage of time is taken up with project management.

What opportunities exist for career progression?
Once qualified, you can progress to more senior roles and into management if desired. The training required to do this job can be applied to many different jobs within the electrical engineering industry.

What can I expect to earn?
As an apprentice you will normally start on an apprenticeship scheme with guaranteed increases each year until qualified. Values are normally based on final fully qualified wages (i.e. 50 per cent first year, 65 per cent, 75 per cent, 85 per cent). Wages vary dependant on expertise and area varying from £14,000 to £35,000

Any hints on getting a job in this area?
Various trade magazines i.e. Electrical Contractor, Electrical Review, Building Services & Environment Engineer, all of which have websites and are available from local wholesalers, carry job adverts. Companies often advertise in the local papers and the job centre. Before advertising for apprentices, companies sometimes contact Norwich City College to ask if they know of any suitable people.