When most people think about the trades, they see it as all cable-laying and wiring, something of job, rather than a career. But as Mr Electric franchisee, Jeff Longley says you can create a career in electrical engineering.
Vocational snobbery. One of those key areas the Government regularly promises to tackle, by making vocational training as key to the education system as university degrees. And whilst there were reports of new laws designed to stop schools telling pupils only academic qualifications are worth applying for, we are still a long way from the trade industries being seen as anything other than a second-rate choice for those who fail with academia. Students should be supported to choose the route best suited to the future they want to craft for themselves.
University has always been seen as the route for success, attainable only by those with the finances, and grades, to find a place among the ranks. But academia doesn’t suit everyone, nor is it the only route for successful, fulfilling career. In fact, many graduates never end-up using the degree qualifications they spend three years achieving.
Whether you attend university, or not – the ability of running your own business is in your hands, not in the grades you achieve. Franchising offers a support network from which you can start off on the ground level, and work your way up the ranks to owning your own company. Or you can come straight in at the top, and build your own business using their model for success. “One of the guys in the network started out as a Mr Electric employee, trained how to do the manual electrical engineering. He reached a point where he wanted more for himself, so took the step to invest in his own Mr Electric company. Another friend I made since joining the network, started off as a Mr Electric franchisee, but was so interested in the design-side of electrics, he simultaneously earned a lighting design Masters, and has gone on to set up his own business – who we can use if we have customers who want a new lighting set-up, or in a new-build project.” Jeff enthuses.