Guernsey Press

Welcome shock for electrician named Apprentice of the Year

ACHIEVING the Apprentice of the Year award was a shock for electrician Tom Oakman, he said.

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Guernsey College of Further Education apprentice of the year Tom Oakman is an electrical apprentice for Alderney Electricity. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 28820499)

Securing top marks in theory and practical assessments, his tutors described him as one of the hardest-working and committed College of Further Education electrical course apprentices, who travelled to Guernsey weekly from Alderney for lessons.

Now a two-day course in Southampton is required to be nationally recognised as qualified, having completed his five-year apprenticeship while working for Alderney Electricity Ltd.

‘It is quite scary to be finished, to be honest, but at least there will be less flights now,’ said Mr Oakman.

Working for AEL is diverse and interesting because the jobs change daily.

‘We are split into mechanical and electrical and do absolutely everything. You never know what you’re doing day to day.

‘I haven’t really thought about the future but I’m definitely not going to move away any time soon. It’s interesting, I do everything up from the generation. I work quite a lot on my own now and can really concentrate.’

AEL said he is an outstanding worker who has recently helped design, construct and test the new power station in Alderney.

‘We’ve just upgraded the whole network and are up to 14 substations now. I’ve done four now and have been working on the new power station. Some of our old switchgears were so old you couldn’t touch them, so it’s nice everything is safer to operate.’

Theoretical and practical expertise are both positives, he said.

‘The practical side is good because you can stand back and see what you’ve done, but knowing how it all works is really satisfying. I had no idea up until fourth or fifth year, but then everything just clicks.

Guernsey College of Further Education apprentice of the year Tom Oakman is an electrical apprentice for Alderney Electricity. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 28820501)

‘I started this course when I was 21 and had been out of school for five years. There’s so much science in it, which was a worry after not doing any for a while.’

During those years he did two full-time college courses in sport and media respectively, before a university year in Southampton doing digital musical production.

‘Thank you to everyone at college and all the staff at Alderney Electricity for their time, knowledge and patience – especially patience.’

CoFE head of apprentices Chris Torode said the final Southampton qualifying course would ‘show he can walk the walk as well as talking the talk’.

Already Mr Oakman has gained a great deal of experience.

‘In a smaller economy of scale, Tom’s been rewiring Alderney’s island infrastructure,’ Mr Torode said.

Seeing students progress is his passion, having come from an apprenticeship background himself.

‘The cycle becomes perpetuating of former apprentices training up apprentices. Plus it keeps skilled workers within the Bailiwick.’

Experience in other disciplines benefits students.

‘Having a changing career trajectory can really help students mature and find what they want to do,’ Mr Torode said.