Joining IHEEM recently as an Associate Member is 41-year-old John Stewart, employed for the past seven years by the Belfast Trust as a maintenance estates fitter.
The former Belfast West Power Station fitter is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and a number of new skills acquired through both City & Guilds and HNC study and an ongoing fouryear B Hons degree course. Having “quickly become aware of the excellent selfenhancement opportunities” on joining the Belfast Trust, John Stewart embarked on a 1-year Level 3 City & Guilds course in Inspection, Certification and Electrical Testing, gaining a Pass for Theory and Practical. He also undertook and passed the examinations for both the 16th, and subsequently, the 17th, editions of the City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in the Requirements of Electrical Installation. “These new experiences of education, and how things have changed since I last went to school, gave me new impetus to push myself further,” he explained. In 2006 he embarked on a two-year HNC in Operations Engineering, achieving nine Distinctions and one Merit, for which he said thanks were due in large part to the “help and inspiration” of his then line manager Bill Castles. He added: “At this stage several potential courses of study had opened up for me. The guidance I received from Gordon McKeown (the retired estates manager at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital or RVH), Gerard McCallam (estates manager at the Belfast Trust), and Bill Castles (now the RVH’s estates manager), all pointed me towards university and a degree course.” During interviews with Nigel Keery, area divisional manager for Belfast Trust, and Shaun McCook, estates manager at the Musgrave Park Hospital, he was encouraged to enrol on a parttime undergraduate B Hons course in Building Services, Energy Management, which he has now commenced.
