Graduate Mechanical Engineer at British Steel | Industrial Asset Management & Maintenance Optimisation
I’ve recently gotten one of those advices you know you just can’t keep to yourself, this time from my manager at my new role, and this takes me back to a discussion I had with my good friend Ifeanyi Ohanyere, MBA a couple of weeks ago. My good friend and I after critically examining the issue of formal training vs experience, we saw that in as much as formal training is important, gaining hands on experience is super important. On this note, I’ll throwback to one of the questions I was asked when I interviewed at British Steel. What is the first thing you would do if you had to carry out maintenance on an equipment I was asked. I said isolation…, and at the mention of isolation my interviewer began writing something down. I never said anything about immobilisation, and frankly I never would have but I remembered that we isolated pipelines before we did valve replacements back when I was an undergraduate intern. Formal training within the four walls of a classroom never taught me this, but doing the job back at First Patriot as an intern did. And years later, I still remembered because I did it and did it several times. So if you ask me, I think that experience, no matter how little, especially as young persons/students is absolutely important. And going back to what my manager told me, this coming while he explained crane sizing for lifting operations to me, he said and I quote “Nothing prepares you more than experience”. And I honestly think experience does a lot to prepare us as young people. So dear young people, take that opportunity to gain experience, and remember that we must keep learning and growing, both from formal training and from building on the job experience. Cheers! #Experience #Training
Spot on, Victor Azuka. One hardly forgets something they worked on themselves. A healthy blend of both is ideal. Through the Career Training program at Student Energy, we take pride in giving hands-on experience in real-world energy projects to young energy enthusiasts. They also get exposed to our energy curriculum. These help to break the barriers to entry into the energy industry for these young professionals.
dude wassup
Training and experience both play vital roles in a person's growth and development. Training provides individuals with the knowledge, skills, and theoretical understanding necessary to perform specific tasks or roles effectively. It equips individuals with the latest industry practices, techniques, and tools. Training allows individuals to gain a solid foundation and can significantly shorten the learning curve. On the other hand, experience complements training by providing real-world application, allowing individuals to put their acquired knowledge into practice. It helps individuals develop practical problem-solving skills, adaptability, and decision-making abilities. Experience allows individuals to learn from their mistakes, build confidence, and grow personally and professionally. While training provides the initial knowledge, experience builds upon that foundation and hones the skills and competencies necessary for success. Both training and experience are essential and should be seen as complementary rather than exclusive. The ideal approach is to continuously seek opportunities for both training and practical experience to achieve continuous growth and advancement.
Sure word "experience" This piece remind me of an interview/ exam for a position of HSE officer, that was my first of it kind. There in the exam Hall was professional men who have worked in that capacity before. But thanks to experience, as a foot soldier who has been exposed to all manner of hazards and as a safety professional, always scale through. As the exam was based on practical experience not theoretical, my knowledge and hands on experience pave way for me to be employed.
Experience is key in Engineering especially as an Equipment maintenance personnel. In as much as I fancy taking parts in formal training sessions, I consider such training incomplete if I haven't gotten the opportunity to practice what I have been trained about in the field by gaining hands on experience on it.
Absolutely agree! Experience is indeed a game-changer. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 👍
Very true indeed!
|| Energy || Sustainability || Project Management || SDGs || Petroleum Technologist || Product Design
10moExperience is a whole lot. I remember discussing with some of my mentors and they were like, gain experience, gain experience. Being in the field for the past 4 months I can tell you experience is a whole deal but in as much as we gain the experience, formal training gives us the understanding based on science or engineering what we are doing out there. For the response you gave in terms of maintenance, training can give you a reason or the method of isolation or protection that has been put in place for such maintenance. It could also tell you the types of maintenance you are about to take, and more benefits. Just to add my cents, training is as important as experience.