Train to gain

Apprenticeships have always provided a solid basis for a career. Les Monks began his as a 15-year-old apprentice with the National Coal Board almost 50 years ago and completed a five-year apprenticeship

in mines electrical engineering. Daniel Macavoy is 19 years old and among the ranks of LJ Monks Group apprentices who are working towards the JTL advanced apprenticeship.

Les unpacks the story. “I grew up in a mining village and just about everybody went to work in the mines. When I left school they’d just started doing a six-month, full-time training course at the local college. The top 10% of passes from the course were then recommended to be put forward for further education.

“I was in that 10% and was given the choice between a mining electrical, mechanical or engineering apprenticeship. My Uncle Fred was an electrician, so I thought I’d follow in his footsteps.”

Apprenticeships are more readily available today and are seen as a serious alternative to academic study. In terms of entry requirements, apprentices need to have passed the initial assessment before they are accepted onto the JTL scheme.

Young people today are encouraged to abandon preconceived ideas that people enter the industry because they couldn’t make the grade in white collar jobs. They are encouraged to see it as a profession with a future. In the electrical industry, apprenticeships lead on to jobs as site foremen or supervisors, engineers, managers and successful owner-managers like Les.

“I would certainly argue against the misconception that apprenticeships are for those who can’t pursue academic studies,” maintains Les. “Apprenticeship training is another form of education and is not for dummies. It never was.

“There are countless numbers of graduates working in supermarkets or in other unskilled professions because there just isn’t enough work out there for them and no future careers available on the back of the course they took.

“It is the total opposite for apprentices. Electricians, and other young people who take up a craft, are highly skilled people.

It is hard work and takes a lot of time, commitment and intelligence to be a successful apprentice. It certainly stood me in good stead, and I can attribute part of my success to the start I had.”

This view is obviously shared by many. When Daniel was asked why he decided to become an electrician, he said it had come highly recommended as a profession and that his parents encouraged him to pursue it because of its many opportunities.

The apprenticeship certainly opened doors for Les. “I left the Coal Board when I was 21 and went to work for an electrical contractor. I worked my way through for more than 12 years and became a foreman, an estimator and then a manager.

The business benefits should be enough. Skilled men and women are the backbone of the business. Without them we don’t have a business.

“In 1975, the company shut down and that’s when I established LJ Monks Group. We grew gradually because we worked in a manner people relate to. We try to do a good job and be fair and reasonable. There was no real masterplan other than to do a good job for our customers and to develop opportunities as and when they’ve arisen.”

Les’s ethos has obviously paid dividends as LJ Monks Group has been around for more than 32 years and has a 350-strong workforce with turnover of £36 million, an impressive increase from the £17 000 it took in its first year of trading.

The firm trains around 34 apprentices with JTL and positively contributes by helping to maintain a skilled and qualified workforce for the electrical industry.

When asked on his views of today’s apprenticeship training, Les is complimentary and obviously believes in the merits of training.

“The current advanced apprenticeship produces a good, competent electrician. The initial assessment is useful as it ensures the successful applicants are equipped with the necessary skills for progression.

“I think they come through fairly good these days. Any areas for improvement can be addressed during the training itself. The Key Skills component of the apprenticeship, for example, helps develop the apprentices’ communication skills. Then there is the main part of the apprenticeship where they gain the necessary practical experience on site, while backing this up with theory and technical knowledge at college.”

Daniel is in the third year of his JTL electrical installation advanced apprenticeship with LJ Monks. When Les did his apprenticeship it took five years to complete, whereas today’s advanced apprenticeship generally takes four.

However, there are many parallels between the two, including the general principles of work-based learning: working on site to gain valuable experience, while studying for a recognised national qualification at college.

Les’s starting pay packet was £2 2s 6d per week. In those days it went up on a birthday, and by the time the apprenticeship was completed, a qualified electrician could expect to earn 6s 5d an hour. Apprentice salaries have increased dramatically since 1958, and Daniel, who will have been gaining annual pay increases in line with his stage advancement, currently earns around £8.13 an hour.

Daniel’s apprenticeship, which in many respects resembles Les’s, allows him to earn as he learns as a full-time employee released from site work to attend college. Attendance at college varies from company to company, depending on the needs of the apprentice and the employer.

Les’s apprenticeship saw him attend Barnsley Technical College on day release, like many apprentices today, while Daniel does block release for three to four weeks, twice a year, at Doncaster College.

Current day apprentices gain valuable on-the-job training and work towards the nationally recognised NVQ Level 3, which is underpinned by the City & Guilds 2330, logbooks, assessments, Key Skills and the industry’s Achievement Measurement Two test. Les qualified with a City & Guilds mines and quarries electrician certificate.

I would say to today’s apprentices, don’t be frightened to get involved in what’s happening on site and at college.

Daniel says: “My college work is currently focusing a lot more on the technical side of electrical installation, going into a lot of details about how things actually work and the accompanying health and safety issues. There are also practical tasks, which further support the work that I carry out on site under supervision.

“I receive a lot of support from my tutors at college and from my training officer, who visits me on site and at college and carries out assessments on my work. He supports me by putting together the different components of my portfolio.

“The site work I’m currently doing is mainly commercial and industrial electrical installations, and this allows me to get involved in all aspects – testing, installing, wiring and maintaining.”

LJ Monks Group is one of a number of employers who are committed to apprenticeship training and invest time and money in the future of people like Daniel, the workforce and the industry. Yet it is still widely reported that not enough employers are recruiting with the future in mind.

Les shares this belief. “The industry should be doing a lot more training. I believe there is a shortage of skilled operatives in the industry. A lot of the qualified electricians are fast approaching retirement age and there are currently not enough trainees to replace them.

“Without doubt, we need to train more. Although there are many employers out there already training, there are a few who have not yet realised the importance of it.

“The business benefits should be enough of an incentive alone. Skilled men and women are the backbone of the business. Without them we don’t have a business. A long-term lack of investment in training could be fatal.

“I for one believe that staff training has definitely impacted on our business. We’ve been employing apprentices from the beginning. Some of the guys and women have been with us for more than 20 years, and a number of our managers came on board as apprentices.”

Like many firms in the industry, LJ Monks Group is a traditional family company. Les’s wife, Maureen, did all the company secretarial work and their children, who both work here today – Warren as group managing director and David as group purchasing manager – used to help out in the school holidays.

Most of the running of the business is now left to Warren and the board of directors. Les’s role is more reviewing business activity, company strategy and business planning.

On a final note, Les offers this advice to today’s apprentices: “Listen to what you are told. Ask questions, be observant, and don’t be frightened to get involved in what’s happening on site and at college.

“If someone thinks they might want to run their own business one day, I’d say, give it a go. You’ve got nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain. As for my future, I plan to enjoy it.”