On a bright July morning in 2024, a small shuffle of Year 11 pupils from The Cowplain School stepped through the doors of SERT’s training centre. They weren’t bouncing with excitement or grinning from ear to ear... far from it. Instead, they stood quiet and curious, hands buried in blazer pockets, glancing around the workshop as if it might spring to life any moment.
Before them lay an array of precision‑built equipment: sturdy heat pumps waiting silently for their first switch‑on; electrical boards, solid as sentinels, mounted along the walls; and solar panels perched across demonstration roofs, some nestling neatly into in‑roof systems, others proudly displayed on floor‑mounted frames. The trainers moved among these marvels, delivering crisp explanations and live demonstrations that revealed each device’s hidden workings. The students listened with steady eyes, posed the occasional measured question and nodded ever so slightly to say, “We’re here. Please, show us more.”
Before them lay an array of precision‑built equipment: sturdy heat pumps waiting silently for their first switch‑on; electrical boards, solid as sentinels, mounted along the walls; and solar panels perched across demonstration roofs, some nestling neatly into in‑roof systems, others proudly displayed on floor‑mounted frames. The trainers moved among these marvels, delivering crisp explanations and live demonstrations that revealed each device’s hidden workings. The students listened with steady eyes, posed the occasional measured question and nodded ever so slightly to say, “We’re here. Please, show us more.”
Supporting Electrical and Utilities Career Routes Through Local Schools in Havant and Portsmouth
A couple of months later, Craig, SERT’s venerable electrical trainer and assessor, arrived on the scene. He did nothing as flashy as pulling rabbits from fuse boxes; instead, he carried something far more potent: boundless patience, genuine passion and a talent for transforming the simplest circuit into a thrilling quest for buried treasure. Each Friday, he arrived at Cowplain School armed with wires, switches and diagrams, his grin silently declaring, “Shall we dive in?”
Hands-On Electrical Training and Site Experience for Teenagers in Hampshire
Then, almost without warning, the spark of real enthusiasm ignited.
About a month in, the group returned to SERT’s head office for their first practical session. Under Craig’s kind but exacting eye, their straight faces softened into murmurs of “Ah, I see now” as tentative fingers gained confidence. Next came the pop‑up training site, conjured from the generosity of Grainger PLC and Morgan Sindall. Tucked away in the school grounds, this little workshop allowed pupils to build circuits on genuine boards, watch safe sparks fly (and learn from every misstep) and break into proud grins when everything worked just so.
Partnership with Employers and Contractors to Showcase Careers in Construction and Utilities
And just when they were starting to feel the tingle of true confidence, they were whisked away to a live building site. They gathered in the small office at the edge of the building site. Lea Hampton (Grainger PLC) and Susan Dee (Morgan Sindall.) met them there and spoke plainly about the industry’s challenges and rewards. Apprentices followed with honest accounts of their journeys as surveyors, some choosing university, others apprenticeships, each path laid out so the students could see the choices before them.
When the talks ended, each young visitor was handed PPE: hard hat, hi‑vis vest and protective eyewear and made their way towards the half-constructed primary school. Then the site manager arrived and began the guided tour, leading them up the scaffolding, looking over the construction site from a bird eye view. They strolled through the rooms of a half-constructed primary school. Overhead, cranes swung scaffolding into place, and the students saw firsthand how plans on paper become buildings in reality.
By the final months, Fridays no longer felt like a chore. The pupils arrived with something that looked very much like excitement, finding rhythm in the work, delight in their growing skill and pride in every socket they connected.
Celebrating Future Skilled Workers in Electrical and Construction Sectors in Hampshire
At last, the grand finale arrived on Friday, 9 May 2025. Parents and industry guests filled the workshop as steaming cups of tea circulated and sweet treats lay neatly on the table. Craig, steady and assured, opened with a warm, heartfelt address, then invited the students to demonstrate their skills at the electrical boards. Wires clicked and lights glowed under curious eyes as each pupil explained their work and answered questions from the guest in attendance.
When the demonstrations concluded, Headmaster Ian Gates stepped forward alongside Craig to present each student with a framed certificate and a bespoke portfolio, brimming with reflections, personal statements and examples of their finest work. These weren’t mere keepsakes but passports to genuine futures. As the certificates changed hands, the room gleamed with quiet pride and bright smiles, marking the triumph of seven months of dedication.
Career Routes and Vocational Education for Teenagers in Cowplain and the Wider Hampshire Area
No, they had not entered SERT’s training centre on that July morning, brimming with excitement. Yet by May, they walked away shining with knowledge in their pockets, confidence in their stride and perhaps the spark of something much greater taking hold.