Richard Hines – Principal Specialist inspector at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
A demanding job in a high-pressure environment, dealing with matters of life and death daily, you might think that I’m the product of a Russell Group university education with a list of Bachelors and Masters degrees to my name. But you’d be wrong.
Like most young people at 16, I finished school and was faced with the massive choice between staying on in education and going to university, entering the world of full-time work, or bridging the gap between the two by undertaking an apprenticeship.
I weighed up my options, mindful that whatever decision I took would determine my future career.
I looked at university pamphlets and attended open days but the courses just didn’t appeal to me.
I knew I wanted to get into electrical engineering as soon as possible, and get real life hands-on experience, when it hit me; I should do an apprenticeship. Twenty years later, I haven’t looked back since.