A career switch for apprentice Rachel
A 31-YEAR-OLD from Heaton Moor is helping to bust the myth that apprenticeships are only for school leavers.
Rachel Green is training to join a team of emergency gas engineers, responding 24/7 to reports of gas leaks across the Manchester area.
Rachel is among 144 apprentices at gas distribution network Cadent, where one in 10 apprentices were aged 24 or older and 60 per cent were at least 19 years old on their first day.
Rachel previously worked as a senior manager in customer relations for a telecommunications business, but wanted to do something more ‘hands on.’
She said: “The office environment wasn’t really for me. I was 30 when I decided to go for it. It doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s never too old to start again.
“I know that the progression I am going to have and the quality of life that I will have going forward, when I qualify, will make it worth it.
Rachel has joined Cadent’s ranks of first-call operatives, the team of emergency gas engineers who respond to reports of gas leaks or concerns about carbon monoxide.
She added: ““Say there was a customer who can smell gas in their living room, we would go to their property with our gas detection equipment and identify if there is a gas escape.
“If there is, we then do everything we can to protect life and property.”