“One bloke said, ‘Why aren’t you doing hairdressing?'"

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When school was coming to an end, I had a hard time deciding which career path I wanted to follow. I was swaying toward being a nurse, because of my caring nature. But I don’t like blood, so that was out of the picture. 

My dad was a domestic spark, and I spent a lot of days on the job with him. Eventually, I decided to follow in his footsteps. 

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For all the time I spent worrying and changing my mind, the decision was almost made for me. I dropped out of school early and didn’t get any GCSEs, and I was nearly told that I couldn’t go to college.

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“I almost didn’t get into college.”

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All the colleges in my area required a grade C minimum for GCSEs, so they were hesitant to take me on. Before I could even get into college, I had to do a Level 1 Functional Skills qualification in English and Maths. 

I just about scraped through, and soon enough I was at MidKent College in Gillingham doing my Level 1 qualification for Electrical Installation. I went to different colleges to complete my Level 2 qualification and further education.

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“I’m glad I decided to become an electrician. It’s a skill I can take with me for life, and there are so many jobs that I’ll never be out of work.” 

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Eventually, I got an apprenticeship, and I spent four days a week on-site and one day a week at college. On top of the theory side of things, there was a lot of practical work involved.

I loved the practical work, but there were a few negative parts. I was the only girl in the class, which felt a bit isolating. And when I went to do site work, some of the blokes made comments. A few of them said, “Why aren’t you doing hairdressing?”

Luckily, I never took the comments too personally. You’ve got to take things like that with a pinch of salt.

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“Strength can be a bit of a barrier, but there’s always ways around it.”

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Another barrier was strength. Nine out of ten times, you’re going to be working alongside another apprentice or electrician. My colleagues are always willing to help me move stuff, and I learned that strength doesn’t have to be a barrier for women who want to become electricians.

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“Put it this way, sometimes you don’t even want to go in those portaloos.”

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Three words: the toilet issue. 

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That’s the big downfall of working on-site instead of in an office. If I were in an office, I would just go. But when I’m on-site, it’s quite a luxury to have a toilet close by. That even applies to bigger sites! 

Portaloos aside, I love my job. 

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Most days, I’m up at 4:30 am and out of the house by 5:15 am. I always try to skip the London traffic, but sometimes I can still be stuck in a jam for an hour. Day to day, I do anything from maintenance to reactive work.

Being an electrician can take you anywhere, which is one of the reasons I love it. 

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Once you qualify, you can branch into testing, maintenance, and big installation projects… the world is your oyster. You’ve got a skill for life that can even take you abroad. 

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“I’ve found a lot of happiness doing my own electrics at home. I save myself (and my family) a lot of time and money. It’s very rewarding.”

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It can be hard to balance work and life, but I try to exercise a lot in my spare time. I love going to the gym, and I really love rugby. I don’t do that as much as I’d like to; work is a bit too full on for a regular rugby night. To boot, an injury could impact my whole career. 

Being an electrician comes with its sacrifices (like the early mornings and the traffic) but overall I love it.

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“I try to turn up each day and give it my best shot.”

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When I look to the future, it seems very bright. Me and my partner (who is also a spark) have always wanted to work together and have our own company. Each morning, I think of that goal.

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Want to hear from more tradeswomen? Read Jade’s Women Behind the Tools interview.