A journeyman plumber with a Picture Butte based business has won a provincial level honour.
Victor Blake has been named the top apprentice for plumbing and gas fitting for 2009. He has been working with Tak’s Plumbing and Heating for the past four years, balancing working and schooling along with family obligations.
Each year for the past four years he has spent two months attending classes in Medicine Hat to further his training and education in the field. During the week he concentrated on classes and came home on the weekend to be with his family.
“I studied as much as I could without going crazy.”
Blake said he was drawn to the profession because there was an opportunity to progress and he found the work challenging.
“You’re always learning.”
He had a buddy in the business who first got him interested in pursuing a new career path. He had been working in the feedlot industry. Working with Tak Hirose has afforded him the chance to work on different project throughout the region.
“I get a lot of variety, something new every day.”
Blake, a father of four, grew up in Whitecourt and makes his home in Coalhurst. He said the apprenticeship program is a great way to learn a new profession because it combines classroom work with hands on experience.
“Overall it’s a good program, it’s flexible.”
He said he always likes to be learning and was able to pull down good marks but he was still surprised to learn he’d been named a top apprentice.
“I guess I got lucky.”