EAL apprentice, Gracie, wins Learner of the Year at SPARKS Female Skills Competition 2025

Each year, SPARKS Female Skills Competition travels across the UK to highlight the talented women training in the industry, discovering upcoming talent in the electrical sector.

In each location, students will battle it out in a live practical test, designed by National Electrotechnical Training (NET) and we’re thrilled to see EAL apprentice, Gracie Donaghy from Wessex Water, takes home the South Regional Winner title.

Gracie comments:

"Winning this award has allowed me to celebrate all the hard work and dedication I have put into college, work, and my apprenticeship. Upon completing my installation at the competition, I felt extremely proud after seeing what I had achieved and skills I’d demonstrated, given coming from having no electrical background only 3 years ago.

"The competition is a very exciting, beneficial, yet nerve-wracking day where you can meet like-minded people. It is good preparation for assessments and installations that you will have to complete in college for your course. Competing in SPARKS has helped boost my confidence and proved to me how hard I need to work to succeed in this industry."

Gracie’s journey so far

With ambition for a trade-related career from early on, Gracie was particularly drawn to the electrical industry:

“I thought it would be very fulfilling to produce work, turn it on and see something work as the end result.”

Her journey to becoming an electrical apprentice wasn’t without its challenges:

“I found starting college was quite hard for me as I had no prior experience of electrical work which was different to most people in my class, so I had to spend extra time practicing and asking questions at work to improve my skills.”

Despite these challenges, her hard work paid off, with her standout moment being winning the Sparks Female South Regional title.

Gracie’s career ambitions

Gracie is currently doing her apprenticeship and AM2 with a long-term goal to go into a more managerial role at Wessex Water.

Her EAL qualification is predominantly preparing her for her AM2 which she will complete after her NVQ. She says:

“That will put me in a good steed for working life upon becoming a qualified electrician as I will have the high-quality training in every area of the job.”

Gracie’s advice to those considering a career in electrical installation or engineering:

“If you like doing hands on work, completing a variety of jobs day to day from containment and cable installation to testing circuits and mathematical cable calculations then you will probably enjoy this industry.”

From everyone at EAL, we would like to congratulate Gracie on this huge achievement.