Be on time.
Punctuality, being on time is probably the most important habit you can create early in your career; your employer will value you for your reliability, and being on time will show a level of commitment that your employer will appreciate.
Seriously, it doesn’t matter how good you are at doing your job, if the people you work with cannot count on you to be on time, you will find that your career will flounder.
Record your hours.
A requirement to obtain an electrical licence is proof that you have the necessary knowledge, skills and workplace experience gathered during your apprenticeship. Workplace evidence is typically recorded through the e-profiling system. The tool provides documented proof of work placement and experience during an apprenticeship; this evidence can be validated by a licenced electrician who supervised the apprentice.
An apprenticeship is four years, and the time will go quickly. To keep up to date with recording your workplace evidence, it is best to make a habit of recording evidence weekly.
Ask lots of questions
Even though an apprenticeship is four years, the time goes very fast. The key is to use the time wisely and use it to learn your craft and master it, so you gain the most knowledge within the time you have with your employer, who has years of experience and who is ready to pass that knowledge on. You will never have the same opportunity again to ask so many questions.
The trick is to know who’s mind you should tap into. There are those who go the extra mile in every organisation, and it is these individuals you want to model your behaviour on. The people who take pride in their work are always looking at how they can improve and be better; asking these types of people questions will give you a better way of looking at your field and help you get in the best mindset to achieve success in your trade.
Study
Your apprenticeship will consist of one day a week at college doing a cert 3 in electrotechnology. Developing good study habits will help keep your academics on track. There are a few things you can do to reduce stress and make studying easier.
- Space out your study. Cramming before an exam is not the best approach, its best to spread out your study sessions. Allow time between study sessions, drink water and remember your brain works better if you study when you are not tired.
- Practice by having a regular study pattern. Plan your week and make sure you don’t leave too much time between sessions; having a regular study pattern will mean you will train the information into your long term memory.
- Test yourself. See if you can get hold of some practice tests and go through these as you would an actual exam. Practising past exams will not only give you an indication of which subject areas you need to improve on, but they will also reinforce your existing knowledge and help you manage your time during an actual exam.
- Mix it up. It’s best to mix it up when self-testing; try focusing on different subjects and concepts. Psychologists call this interleaving.
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