Little did Kyle Radford know that attending a Family Literacy Program would be the first step for him in becoming a registered Electrician Apprentice for Jim’s Electric.

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Karen Ziemann from Being Human Services was facilitating an information session for a family literacy program when she had a casual conversation with Kyle. For years, Kyle had been looking for a job that would lead him into the electrical field but had not been able to get his foot in the door anywhere because he had no experience. Karen talked to him about the Gen Y & Z program and the rest is history.

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Kyle entered the program as a shy person. He said that the program opened him up. He learned so much about himself and gained confidence in interacting with individuals and in a group setting. He enjoyed the training program more than school because he was there to better himself, not just to get a grade in a class. The program put him on the path to becoming a registered apprentice and taught him to take risks and make solid choices. Kyle understands the importance of a good resume, work search techniques, informational interviews and how to prepare for an interview, skills he didn’t have before and is grateful to have now.

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Kyle earned himself an electrical apprentice contract after only one and a half months on the job!  He speaks highly of his crew at Jim’s Electric and stated that he can ask anyone anything and that it is the best learning environment he has ever been in. For the first time, Kyle is excited to get up and go to work as this does not feel like a job to him. He had never experienced this before.

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Tom Peterson, Red Seal Electrician and Foreman for Jim’s Electric, is proud of the training process that the company does with apprentices. Kyle will have the opportunity to become a well-rounded and highly skilled Electrician with training in commercial, residential, industrial and service work. Jim’s Electric pride themselves on their philosophy that training is focused on information and knowledge being passed on to newer employees. Employees are encouraged to ask questions and to learn from their challenges and mistakes.

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Tom stated that Kyle’s strengths are that he has a natural ability to learn and he approaches his tasks with a positive and    can-do attitude. Kyle has a happy and good-natured personality. People like to have him on their crew and the crew trusts that he does his job to the best of his ability and to company standards. He has a strong attendance record and is ready to work, which are important attributes to an employer who has deadlines and projects to complete. 

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Kyle looks forward to a bright future in his new career.