Roger Bragg

When I was in high school, I wanted to be heavy equipment operator. My father was an operator and I spent a lot of time around machines. But when I graduated high school, there were few jobs available for operators. My father and grandfather talked into doing the electrical program. As it turns out now, this was a good decision. I love what I do and I have worked most of the time since I started.

I enrolled in the construction electrician program at Academy Canada. This is a 9-month program that prepares you for the job site. In addition to learning about electrical theory, creating circuits, adding devices to circuits, and the different electrical devices, you learn how to read blueprints and get safety training. After this I became an apprentice. Over the next four years, I worked with more experienced electricians on real job sites. There I used what I learned in the classroom in real situations. I also learned new things from these electricians. After I had completed the necessary amount of apprentice training, I went back to school to prepare to take the examinations in order to become a Red Seal electrician, which is what I am now.

The type of work I do has changed over the years. When I started out, I worked only in residential construction for about three years. Then I worked on a mix of residential and commercial building for another four years. I found working on commercial buildings to be more interesting as you get to do many different things and add to your skill set. Now I am working in industrial settings. I find this the most interesting of all the work I’ve done.  Industrial electricians install, maintain, test, troubleshoot, service and repair industrial electrical equipment. A lot of this work includes equipment that is directly connected to electrical power such as motors, generators, pumps and lighting systems. There is always new stuff to learn so I never get bored!