From Rise Of The Footsoldier To Gas Engineer
12th Jan.
Not many people can say they have had a fight scene with Vinnie Jones, but our part-time student Garry has.
People always expect our students to have knowledge of trades before they enter the training centre and as much as it would be good to have some, it doesn't matter. We can take someone who doesn't have any and turn them into excellent gas engineers. All you have to do is apply yourself and work hard.
Garry is a great example; he has come into the centre and worked hard. He is due to go out for placement soon, and we have full confidence he will return with a job offer.
We asked Garry some questions about life and the course.
Q - So we know you have been in some pretty cool films, who has been the best film star you have met?
Ewan McGregor on the set of trainspotting 2. To be exact it was the loyalist scene, we where all bundled into the pub (The Orb in Bellshill) and the heat was unbearable, But Ewan was just cutting about chatting to everyone between scenes.
Q - Why Did You Decide To Get Involved In The Gas Industry?
I wanted to get a trade that could offer me a better work life balance around my three year old son. Most of the other trades I have looked at was a minimum of three years before you qualify and you have the issue of trying to get someone to take on a modern apprentice. But the gas is 6 months full time or 11 months part time.
Q - What Made You Go For The Part Time Course?
The part time course was great for me as I have my son a lot, and nursery hours aren't the easiest to work around. I am in college Wednesday / Thursday 18:00 - 21:00 & Saturday 08:30 - 15:00.
Q - What made you do the gas course?
Always had a keen interest on how everything worked inside the boiler, I've always been tinkering with stuff ever since I was a wee boy lol I used to strip stuff apart, see how it worked and then put it all back together again so it's mostly like that but now I'm a fully grown adult doing it lol.
Q - What Is Your Plan After Energy Technical Academy?
My plan is to go to go to a company who will continue to teach me the trade as I grow. The good thing with ETA is you have a good few job options lined up with the likes of City Technical, Scottish Gas & Smaller Local Companies.
We still offer our accredited part-time gas engineer course! If you would like to come in and have a free tour of the learning centre, get in contact with us today!