Meet trainer and assessor Brian Chainey

What interests you about the industry?

Things have always been developing. Boilers used to have little electrics and a lot of gas, and now they have a lot of electrics and little gas. You never stop learning. I’ve worked in all sorts of places too.

How did you get into it?

That’s easy: I started as an apprentice at 9am on 9 September 1969 at 709 Old Kent Road in London with South Eastern Gas Board, as it was then. My grandfather had worked for the Hastings Gaslight and Coke Company making the town’s gas, so there was a bit of a tradition. About halfway through the apprenticeship they told us, ‘forget what you know, we need to change the type of gas we use to natural gas’. That was a taste of things to come; the one thing that’s certain is change.

How did you get into your current role?

I saw a job ad for a commercial gas teacher. I do domestic, catering, water regs and energy efficiency too. People who I taught 20 years ago now have their own apprentices.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned?

Never be afraid to ask a question: if you don’t know you’ll never find out. It’s still a learning curve for me. For people new to the industry it’s important to ask. Because you’ve got nothing to compare a situation with, you don’t know any different. Bite the bullet, really go for it and enjoy the ride.

Have you got a stand-out moment?

Going to Cyprus to teach for three weeks. It was a bit of an adventure. I couldn’t speak fluent Greek, but I had an interpreter. I could answer in Greek by the time I finished. It was quite hilarious – and shocked the interpreter. We didn’t know at the time but we were being very carefully watched. The chap organising the trip had to report to the Cyprus Ministry of Labour after we left…

If you had the chance, would you do it all over again?

Yes. I’m proud of the work I’ve done and that’s plenty for me.

Tell us something people don’t know about you

I used to play drums for an English folk band in the 70s. We toured all over the place – Belgium, Holland and across the UK. We’d play for four hours at a time. I used to do firework displays too: I made quite a noise for years. I enjoy wildlife photography these days, it’s much quieter…

This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec 2018 issue of P&H Engineering, the magazine for members of the CIPHE. Find out how to join here.