On the 23rd of August 2013 I headed into my high school to collect my GCSE results. The same results that would depend on me heading into work and luckily they were exactly what I need.
So on the 2nd of September a very nervous Rob headed to Hoylake house to board a coach to ScottishPower Glasgow. I spent a week there learning all about the company and getting the opportunity to take in one of Iberdrolas biggest venture Whitelee Windfarm. 
Though you can be told by other people how much an apprenticeship means you cannot truly understand how much it can actually set you up for a great start in the working world. Like paying for me to pass my driving test and buy my first car or being able to be trained by someone who actually works in the industry getting one on one training. This made it a no brainer for me over the University route.
The best thing for me about following this apprenticeship is that it allows me to focus on one subject. This means that I can spend all of my time developing my knowledge of the network and the components that make it up. The best thing is that because I learn all day everyday and there are hundreds of opportunity’s to chat with the Energy Networks staff and trainers. This lets me develop my knowledge and use my skills to approach and solve multiple challenges that are included in my job.
My Daily Routine: I get into work at 8 o’clock ready for a 9 o’clock start I use this time to get ready for the day and write up job sheets and activities from the previous day. I then move into the classrooms and work shops where I learn about practices and procedures as well as develop my hand skills and problem solving skills where I am always positively encouraged to question everything I am doing and finish any job to the best possible standard in a safe manner. 
I always take the opportunity to step back and check my work to make sure that it is completed to a high standard. Which is always positively supported by the training staff.
I have always found that making steps to independently develop your knowledge works in your favor as you can be often be faced with tasks which you may need extra knowledge to interpret the tasks correctly. I found this especially when I worked on protection systems in a 11KV panel board and I was rewiring the current transformers and my studying allowed me to understand what happening in the panel. This is extremely important part of our network as it protects all of the equipment we use from damage. This allows us to keep our customers lights on with minimum periods of no power.
I have enjoyed my time so far with ScottishPower and look forward to the challenges and opportunities the future will bring.
