Christopher Ashfield – STEGTA Excellence Award Winner 2022
We would like to Congratulate Christopher Ashfield who works for Johnson Controls and has been awarded a STEGTA Excellence Award for Mentoring Support.
(Chris is presented his award by STEGTA Deputy CEO Ian Parker).
“I would like to say that I was really honoured to receive the STEGTA award. I am grateful for the recognition!
I have been with Johnson Controls for over ten years, working as a CAD Engineer and I jumped at the opportunity to mentor an apprentice.
Ged Phillips, the Training Officer from STEGTA, who nominated me for this award, has really helped me and our apprentice Joe Parker here over the last year. He has encouraged us and helped to keep us focused.
Taking on the role of mentor differs from being a line manager, being involved in disciplinary issues or teaching theory. It involves coaching, passing on the practical soft skills and experience gained over the years.
As a mentor, you help apprentices develop their approach to work, including building rapport, integrity, team work, while remaining positive and professional. They also teach about company procedures, values and ways of working.
One of the ways that we get paid is in job satisfaction and gratitude. Being a mentor definitely ticks these boxes and you gain the feeling of being involved in somebody else’s success.
Also, being a successful mentor may help develop the sorts of skills required for people development and team leading which means it can help the mentor progress in their own career.
I have found that utilising Udemy online training courses, a great way of teaching the various software packages that we use here, like; AutoCAD, Revit and Excel.
Also, asking for help and guidance from other departments within the organisation, has been essential in providing Joe with a good overall appreciation of how things fit together as a whole.”