EDA Apprentices of 1965 – Where are they now?

The EDA’s centenary this year has allowed the Association to indulge in some nostalgia. The EDA has excellent archives and it was particularly struck by an article in a 1965 edition of Electrical Wholesaler magazine about EDA’s (then EWF) first trainees.

The picture here shows a classroom of youths nearing completion of their two-year specialised City & Guilds traineeship. After a pilot in London the scheme was replicated in Birmingham and Bristol. Trainees studied maths and English, the sales function, customer service, despatch and transport and business organisation.

They also took a class in ‘Electrical Knowledge’, which gave them hands on experience of the products. The students found this section extremely valuable as some of their comments show.

“If you are an electrical wholesaler, you can’t do a proper job if you don’t know anything about electricity, can you?”

“My ordering ability has improved through my new greater electrical knowledge.”

“With more precise knowledge of what equipment will do what we can channel customer requirements and even direct customers who were not sure what they wanted.”

Today, the EDA offers a modern version of this training through its Training and Development Portfolio. It helps companies recruit, train and reward apprentices through its Modern Apprenticeship Programme offering NVQs on topics such as warehousing, customer service, van driving, accounting, IT and more. Trainees also study English and maths and members have access to 10 Product Knowledge Modules resulting in a City and Guilds Certificate.

The training takes place in the workplace and, happily, there are now several girl trainees.

The boys of 50 years ago summed it up when they said: “The wholesale industry needs properly trained recruits. Even if we move from one company to another, we’re still in wholesaling, which is what everybody wants.”

The EDA would love to find these early trainees and see how they are getting on today. Contact the EDA on 01892 619990 if you have information. Call Joanna Key on the same number for details about EDA Training and Development.