Ben Shirley, top-scoring electrical apprentice at the IRTE Skills Challenge 2017, tells us what winning the competition has meant for him
Ben Shirley has not looked back since winning his award last year, and credits the competition for his positive outlook.
“It’s given me a lot of belief in my own ability,” he says. “I go into a job now knowing that I can fix the problem; I don’t worry as much.”
Having recently passed his apprenticeship, Ben is looking towards the next stage of his career with confidence and believes his interest in electrical engineering will be beneficial to him in the years ahead.
“I’ve always been interested in electrics, and that’s the way the industry is going now, which is great for me. Especially in London, where I am based, all the technology is going in that direction,” says Ben.
As sponsors donate brand new buses and coaches for use in testing week, competing technicians get the opportunity to pinpoint and fix faults on the latest technology.
“At the testing week, there was a fully electric bus which we had to diagnose. It was brilliant to work on this sort of technology. It’s very interesting to check all the different faults on the vehicle and be tested on something that you might not be expecting,” says Ben.
“I couldn’t believe it when my name was read out at the awards ceremony. I just want to push on with my career now and get as much experience under my belt as possible.”
Applications for the Skills Challenge 2018 are now open.
For more information or to register your interest, email irteskills@soe.org.uk or call 020 7630 2171.
