William Kay
What does a professional sportsman do when faced with the possibility of his sporting career coming to an end?
For one sportsman in particular the answer to just such a dilemma was to re-train as an electrician.
William Kay is a professional rugby player from North Yorkshire. In 2007 at the age of 23 he faced the grim possibility of his rugby career coming to a premature end when he fractured his eye socket during a match.
“I thought I wouldn’t ever play again”
Having dedicated the last five years of his life to rugby this was a huge setback for Will. At the age of 18 he made the bold decision to give up a law degree to take up a contract as a professional rugby player. He knew the chance to become a professional sportsman was a once in a life time opportunity, but when injury struck he had no career to fall back on.
Not being the type of person to wallow in his misfortunes Will quickly made the decision to retrain as an electrician. An internet search led Will to find New Career Skills, who subsequently provided him with a host of information about their training programmes. Will was left with no unanswered questions following a visit from an NCS advisor. He felt confident that he would receive the best possible training available. In Will’s own words:
“NCS just seemed a thousand times better than the other training companies; they were all a bit naff”
To begin with the new routine of study was a challenge. Will admits Mathematics is not his forte and that studying hadn’t featured in his life for quite some time. As a result he had to work hard initially, but it wasn’t long before he developed confidence in his abilities.
“I was quite surprised how much maths and physics was involved with the electrical training, it’s not anything people should worry about though it just takes a few weeks to get into the swing of it”.
In Will’s own words the standard of support he received during his training programme was “brilliant”. He was encouraged every step of the way. New Career Skills operates with a small but dedicated team of tutors; this meant that Will was able to develop close relationships, enabling him to feel comfortable and confident when asking the tutors for help.
“I was ringing up to the point of annoyance sometimes because I had so many questions but everyone always seemed pleased to help, and you’re not ringing up and speaking to someone you’ve never spoken to before your speaking to someone who knows you”.
This level of support continued even after Will had completed the training programme, a resource which became invaluable to him.
“I think the time where support from the tutors is most valuable is in between completing the course and passing Part P assessment because at that time you are sort of in no mans land”.
Although the New Career Skills training centre is a long distance from where Will lives in Leeds this was not a factor that fazed him. Travelling was not a hardship to him because the end destination was always worthwhile; Will always thoroughly enjoyed the practical training.
“ NCS makes it enjoyable and friendly, you think of these places as a bit like school but its not because everyone who’s there are keen to do it so everyone is up beat and enthusiastic and it’s a great atmosphere when your there”.
Fortunately half way through his training programme with New Career Skills, having fully recovered from his injury Will was able to return to playing rugby. Despite this he was determined to finish what he had started and so he continued with his electrical training, only this time with a slightly different motive.
The electrical training had become important to Will as a way of keeping his mind active. Rugby training although demanding in some ways is not a great demand on time.
“Being a sportsman without doing anything else you kind of start going mad, you’ve got so much free time, sometimes you go a bit brain numb”
He added:
“ You feel fulfilled in the fact that every weekend you know you’re going to be playing rugby and its competitive but your every day life you think I want to start doing something more”. Will currently plays rugby for Halifax Rugby Club. He has also recently finished his Part P electrical qualification and intends to set up his own electrical business to keep him active when he’s not on the rugby pitch. He is very confident about his plans and has no doubt that training with New Career Skills has been a beneficial experience both for his personal well being and for his future earning potential.
After working in retail for 30 years, at the age of 46 Nigel was unexpectedly made redundant. He now runs a business.
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