Patrick Henderson (centre) proudly displays his FICA certificate flanked by left, Mike Stark (Operations Director) and right, Gary Daniel (Regional Director)
Arthur McKay’s electrical apprentice Patrick Henderson, pictured centre, receiving his certificate for passing his FICA (Final Integrated Competence Assessment) test with an exceptional score of 100%. The FICA is an integral part of the SQA/SJIB Level 3 SVQ in electrical installation and may only be taken by apprentices and adult trainees once they have completed the required competencies and site experience.
Patrick sat the nerve-wracking 2-day assessment at Edinburgh College under the strict criteria laid down by SJIB (the Scottish Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry).
Patrick, who was naturally thrilled to have passed his test with flying colours, said “I was really shocked when I got the news that I had scored 100%. I think I had a delayed reaction as it took about a week to sink in but when I realised the scale of it, I felt fantastic.”
When asked about how he prepared for the test, Patrick added: “Mike’s mentoring programme helped ensure that I was prepared and ready to sit the test and the training information became ‘my bible’ in the 3 months running up to the test. That coupled with all the site experience I have gained, over the last 2 years, helped prepare me for all the practical sessions. I felt particularly comfortable beforehand with the inspection and testing section as I had recently gained a lot of testing experience.”
Operations Director Mike Stark, who provides mentoring support to Arthur McKay’s apprenticeship programme, commented “I’ve got to know a lot of our electrical apprentices over the years, supporting them on their apprenticeship journey and so I know what an unprecedented achievement this is for Patrick. The company, generally, has an above average FICA pass rate (generally between 85-90% at second attempt) but this is the first time that anyone has scored 100% at first attempt under the new format test.”
Gary Daniel, Regional Director, pointed out “scoring 100% in the FICA test is no mean feat and Patrick clearly did his homework and preparation beforehand to be able to perform so well under pressure. Over the last couple of years, Patrick has gained a wide range of practical site experience on various types of projects. This ‘hands-on’ experience provided Patrick with valuable first-hand knowledge of many of the challenges he was likely to encounter during the test.”
For more information on Arthur McKay’s award-winning apprenticeship schemes, see website.
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