Changing career can often be a challenge. When Dave Fox from Buckinghamshire decided to move on from manual labour to a challenging job in electronic engineering, he knew he needed to get qualified. He quickly learned the basics of his new role at Varisys at High Wycombe on the job, but had no paperwork to prove it.

A specialist tutor from ATG Training, funded by the European Social Fund and the regional development agency SEEDA, stepped in to help. Dave began his formal learning by taking an Electronic Measurements and Testing course; he now has a level three EAL Certificate in Electronic Measuring and Testing and aims to build on his skills and progress further through the company.

Dave says the training has made work more rewarding: ‘I now undertake board inspections, power/ground short checks and power supply voltage checks as part of my job, I understand the reasons why we do them and what to look for whilst doing them. The ESF course definitely gave me a better understanding of electronics before starting my full qualifications and helped me start to choose which routes of the industry I want to work in.’

The Skills for Technology project co-financed by SEEDA and ESF aims to boost the skills base. It provides training opportunities to the workforce of smaller companies along with 900 specialist qualifications in Advanced Instrumentation, ICT and Electronics. Dave Hughes from ATG Training commented: ‘Dave has worked very hard to succeed and we’re pleased he wants to keep on learning. We’re very proud of him.’