Christopher James has been enjoying his role as a motor vehicle apprentice working to achieve Level 2 Automotive Engineering. He works four days a week at JP Engineering Brecon and attends college in Newtown one day a week.
Chris, originally a climbing instructor, decided during lockdown that he’d like to retrain and was considering what career direction to take when he saw an advertisement for an apprentice at JP Engineering in Brecon. He hasn’t looked back since.
Having made a brave move to change careers, where he not only took a financial hit to chase his dream, he also left behind the familiarity and comfort zone of his previous industry.
Chris said: ‘I am enjoying all aspects of the training. Though I do travel one day of the week up to Newtown it’s good to learn things here that I can put into practice back in work. The campus has a large workshop, and the lecturers are always helpful.’
Chris’s employer Joshua Jones at JP Engineering said: ‘Chris is a very enthusiastic apprentice. Very keen to learn, always asking questions. He’s never been late or had time off that’s not pre-arranged, he’s very reliable. We’re confident he will be an asset to any workshop once qualified.’
Pathways Training Assessor, Arwyn Jones said: ‘Chris has proved to be a consistent learner who is rapidly gaining confidence in his own abilities. He has bought with him maturity, together with his wide and varying experience of working with others that he accrued in the outdoor pursuit industry. This experience and competence is a big part of the qualification. Building on his general life skills these can cross over to his now chosen trade. He has also proven to be a committed learner commuting to Newtown to train in our motor vehicle engineering workshops which are well resourced and kitted out with industry-standard equipment including high-spec computerised diagnostic tools.’
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