JTL Blog


Darke & Taylor Apprenticeship blog: An autumn update

Darke and Taylor Charlie and Jay

This autumn we’re delighted to update you on the progress of our apprentices currently completing their apprenticeships at electrical engineering company, Darke & Taylor. This blog series allows you to see the whole apprenticeship experience, from start to finish, through their eyes. We have also included some step-by-step installation videos, showcasing some of the new skills our apprentices have learnt along the way.

When we last caught up with Charlie, Jay and Max, they were all getting stuck into the first year of their apprenticeships at Darke & Taylor and beginning work on a mix of professional projects – all of which you can read more about here: https://jtltraining.com/darke-taylor-apprenticeship-blog-an-update/

Since then, Max has moved on to pursue other opportunities whilst Charlie and Jay are moving into the second year of their apprenticeships. It’s here where they’ll find new challenges and experiences that give them the chance to hone their newly found skills. As always with Charlie and Jay, it’s something they’re ready to meet with an unwavering eagerness.

Speaking with Charlie, he enthusiastically told us “I can’t wait for the next year of my apprenticeship, I’m really looking forward to gaining more experience and adding to the portfolio of work that I’m building. Having a year under my belt feels great, and I can tell I’m well on my way to a professional career.

“Since the last update, I’ve gotten to work in a domestic job handling some completely new areas for me, like those that use armoured cable and data cabling. The practical experience I’ve started acquiring on site has seriously increased my electrical knowledge and I feel like I’m genuinely learning something new every day.

“It’s meant that I’ve got a much better grasp of the tools and generally feel more competent with them and the work environments that I’m finding myself in.”

Jay echoed Charlie’s enthusiasm for both the past year and the year ahead, saying: “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experience, there are so many things that I’ve dealt with which at first I had no idea how to do, but I can now do with ease. My main project has been working on a large house in Mayfair, and that’s allowed me test out my electrical knowledge in a live environment.

“I have genuinely enjoyed the constant flow of people I’ve been able to meet and work with, and all of the new skills I’ve developed each day. My training officer’s support has been an especially big asset, they’re always checking in on how I’m keeping up and reply quickly whenever I need anything.

“As an apprentice, there’s naturally always challenges with doing new things, but I’ve been lucky to learn that just by asking someone else and trying again, you’ll find a way to get the job done right. I can tell how much I’ve grown this past year, and that really excites me for what’s to come – I can’t wait to look back in another year’s time and see even more differences in myself.”

It seems that both Charlie and Jay are off to a flying start in their second year of training! We’ll be catching up with them later in the year to see how they’re getting on.

 

 

Here Charlie is completing the installation of a Steel Wire Armoured (SWA) gland into a distribution board. He must ensure the gland is tight. This type of termination is covered in Charlie’s practical sessions at college, and when he comes to do his AM2S he will need to understand the different types of glands that should be used.

 

In this video Charlie calculates the angle needed to bend the conduit. He inserts the conduit into the bending machine to mark the location of his bend before bending it to the desired angle.

 

Charlie is cutting the conduit to the length needed. It is fixed in the machine, so it does not move.

 

Charlie is cutting a thread into the conduit so that it can be joined to another piece of equipment or conduit.

Metal conduit is an important skill to learn, and he will need to demonstrate this as part of his AM2S.

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