Apprentice of the Year named

FORMER MARINE NAMED APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

Richard Bradley has become the 2019 winner of NICEIC and ELECSA’s electrical apprentice of the year after triumphing over a fi eld of more than 1,000 apprentices. Th e 31-year-old from Southport, Merseyside, was one of eight competitors to reach the Grand Final, held on Tuesday 4 June at the head offi ce of competition partner Scolmore Group.

Th e fi nal was the third stage of the contest, which saw more than 1,000 apprentices from across the UK take part.

Richard studied electronics as part of his apprenticeship with the Ministry of Defence. He is currently working towards his NVQ Level 3 Qualifi cation in Electrical Installation at a local training centre.

“I entered the competition after recently being medically discharged from the marines,” he said. “I needed to fi nd a career that was similar to the work I was doing but could also help me develop as a person and support my family.

“Being part of the competition has been such a rewarding experience. It has given me more confi dence in my ability and I intend to push forward and keep challenging myself.

“I would defi nitely recommend anyone wanting to push themselves further to consider taking part. You’ve got nothing to lose and you never know what will come from it.”

Richard was presented with a holiday voucher worth £2,000. Runner-up Cameron Molloy received a holiday voucher worth £750, while third place went to James Martin-Lucraft, who received a £250 holiday voucher. All eight fi nalists were given an engraved glass trophy, an iPad and a kit bag containing an array of Scolmore electrical accessories.

Th e eight fi nalists were put through a series of challenges across a range of disciplines, including insulation resistance testing, earth loop impedance testing, safe isolation and a conduit challenge. Each candidate also had to undergo a technical interview with Certsure’s former technical standards director Alan Wells.

Th e winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the nearby Belfry Hotel. Handing over the prizes were Kevan Parker, managing director at Certsure; Martyn Walley, group technical director at Scolmore Group; and Billy Byrne, star of TV’s DIY SOS.

Darren Staniforth, senior technical development manager at NICEIC and ELECSA, said: “Th is is the fourth year that we have run the competition and the standards are getting higher each year. Th rough this competition, we want to recognise the talent of electrical apprentices and acknowledge all the good work they do.”

Marie Parry, group marketing director at Scolmore, said: “Our aim at the start of this venture was to create and develop a national competition that would not only attract the highest calibre of candidates but also generate interest within the industry, and this is certainly proving to be the case.”

CINEMA WINNERS

Certsure has been awarded the title of best commercial initiative at the prestigious Memcom Membership Communications Excellence Awards, in recognition of the cinema event it hosted for contractors around the country on the day the 18th Edition was launched.

The campaign saw more than 6,000 contractors attend 40 cinemas to witness the live event – the fi rst of its kind in the electrical industry – broadcast from the worldfamous Faraday Theatre.

TECHTALKS RETURN FOR A NEW SERIES

NICEIC and ELECSA have announced the latest TechTalk dates. Returning in September, the regional shows will feature a range of seminars to keep you up to date with the latest news and views. The series is CPD-accredited, so attendees can use it as part of their ongoing professional development.

TechTalk host and senior technical presenter for NICEIC and ELECSA Darren Staniforth will be leading the discussion, along with technical engineer Jake Green. Topics include BS 5839 part 6, smart installations, EICR coding in line with the 18th Edition and technical Q&As.

Each event runs from 8am-1pm, and every delegate gets a breakfast roll and refreshments as part of the package. Tickets cost £25 and can be booked at www.shop.niceic.com/events or by calling 0333 015 6626.

For more information or to enquire about exhibiting at TechTalks, please email events@certsure.com

The full list of dates and venues: • 25 September: Royal Cornwall

Showground, Wadebridge • 8 October: Norfolk Showground,

Norwich • 9 October: Luton Auction House,

Luton • 10 October:

Chelmsford

Racecourse • 15 October:

Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast • 3 December:

Kingston Park

Stadium, Newcastle • 4 December: Elland

Road, Leeds • 22 January: Liberty Stadium, Swansea • 23 January: Ashton Gate Stadium,

Bristol • 24 January: Cheltenham Racecourse • 12 February: Fontwell Park, Fontwell • 13 February: Kent Event Centre, Kent • 26 February: Wolverhampton

Racecourse • 27 February: Leicester Racecourse • 5 March: Venue Cymru, Llandudno