Latest / Built by People / The Lamp Academy: How We Created Own Own Talent Pipeline
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- speaker-0: One of the other ideas that we discussed was talking about Speaker 1: The Lamp Academy. So do want to give us an intro into the Lamp Academy? speaker-0: Yeah, certainly. So a few years ago, DFL were, we kind of hit a bit of a patch with the recruitment where we couldn't quite get the people that we really needed within the business. So we looked at it objectively and thought, well, actually, ⁓ now's a really good time to create our own, our own program, bring our own, bring our own people in, train them up and, and kind of get them to engineers and, and, and to work the DFL way, how, how we want, how we want them. so we introduced the lamp Academy. which is learning and mentoring program. And it's aimed at sort of college leavers or young people that are kind of maybe see lighting as maybe a little bit interested in it, but not quite sure where they want to go with their careers, but got an interest in science and technology or engineering and related subjects and that sort of thing. So we brought them in, trained them up, put them on sort of the various training courses. had the ILP offer some of them, put them on those. put them on our own training as well. and yeah, really kind of sort of train them from within. Yeah. I'll tell you what I think. Why don't we go and get them in and let them explain it themselves and see what they think about it. Yeah. Good. Speaker 1: couple of them. Thanks Rich for passing over to us. As you mentioned, I'm Conor MacDonald. I'm the Senior Lighting Engineer at Designs for Lighting. I've been in CFL for three years and I've dealt quite closely with the Lamp Academy and kind of helped it grow to where it is today. I started in the industry four or five years ago now. Yeah, today I wanted to discuss with one of our lampers, one of our older lampers, Jack, to talk about his experience within the lamp academy and kind of where he's come from to get to where he is now. So, hello Jack. speaker-0: Hello, how you doing? See, I'm Jack. I'm a lighting technician at DFL. I'm just coming up to three years now, three years August, which has honestly flown by sort of straight out of university into this. It's been brilliant, to be honest. Speaker 1: Yeah, I find time flies when you're It's university time speeds up. So how did you get into the lighting? speaker-0: Yeah. I think the classic answer is always falling into it, which everyone has the same answer, but kind of was that. Obviously I just come straight out of uni. did architecture at uni, so it's very sort of design oriented, very, you know, drawing, modeling, that sort of background. yeah, just applying for jobs. And obviously this one popped up as well. Sent off my portfolio, did an interview, and it was quite a quick process. And I got straight into it. come up here, think a couple months before in August, you know, to have a little chat with everyone. then, yeah, it kicked off in August 23, I think it was. And then sort of started that whole process from there. And this is obviously my first full-time job since coming out of uni. So stepping into uni slash a part-time job into full-time was quite, was quite a lot, especially from a corporate perspective as well, sort of sitting in front of a desk and Speaker 1: Yes. speaker-0: meetings and that sort of perspective was something to try and work out essentially. But yeah, it's been going very well. Speaker 1: I suppose that's quite a major learning curve. I suppose a lot of people starting the industry will know that. Like going from that education side, whether that's school into an apprenticeship or uni into work, moving from that point to an industry where it's a bit more professional, where it's fairly well-dressed. And I think that can be quite a learning curve. What do you think would be one of the bigger learning curves moving into industry into DFF? speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ I think I'd probably just call it back to university again. Obviously my background was always design, lot of design oriented doing things, but then coming into more the engineering side, there's a lot of theory behind it and trying to learn a lot of the theory, especially with lighting principles as well, was a lot of reading, a lot of understanding and obviously still referencing them and reading about it now. So it's something that's not always going to stay in my head. is always something to always refer to and there's always additional learning to be done. Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I suppose what makes you unique within the company beyond everyone else is your 3D modeling. I suppose you want to talk bit more about your background in 3D modeling and maybe a project or so that you found quite interesting while working at DfM. speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, so joining DFL, obviously we'd learned the software as a lighting reality and then we started to learn a bit of Dialux, which is one of the lighting software's we use. it was just from my background and experience doing it in uni to then applying it to a slightly different 3D modeling software, but me being able to pick it up quite quickly and, you know, model houses and whole developments and sort of all these bits and pieces adding textures and sort of making it look visually nice as well. And I think one of the projects I have worked on, probably one of my 3D modeling projects I enjoyed doing was in Digbeth in Birmingham that Alastair and I worked on. it was fairly small proposed apartment blocks, but we had a really nice urban design in the center. And it was kind of one of the projects that stands out because of me taking more of a lead, kind of stepping from learning about it to then flipping, taking the lead. doing the lighting design and doing the modeling and then actually doing the presentation to the clients and other consultants as well. That was kind of that switch and it was quite interesting. Speaker 1: I suppose like you said there, of been here what, coming up to 43 years, two and a half years now, so you're near the end of what we determined to be the Lambda Academy. Gone through your modules, progressing your Mod D, and put on the way out I suppose. So I suppose now it's more towards doing more of that personal design work, your personal management. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1: How have you found that the workload developed from when you first started to where you are now? speaker-0: Yeah, so obviously when I first started it was a lot of assisting doing bits and pieces for projects and sort of report writing calculations, such, but then that extra step of being in charge of the whole project, the extra project management meetings, and then also doing work, maybe even divvying it up to someone else as well, obviously within the company. it's a bit of a balance, but it's been, and it's been probably the biggest step in terms of learning experience, obviously not quite used to. project management's perspective of leading things and having to liaise with clients and other consultants. So yeah, it's probably been the biggest hurdle and the biggest learning experience I would say. Speaker 1: Yeah, I that makes complete sense. think probably a lot of listeners, anyone in work knows often that the hardest hurdle to get over is good communication and dealing with clients in the best way. No matter what type of client they are. So I think that's yeah, that's quite cool. How would you probably describe DFL in just one sentence? Good. speaker-0: ⁓ warming, I'd say. think that's word. Warming, I'd say, especially coming from that perspective of not being in a full time job before more professional in a, big industry, you know, construction industry engineering, you know, and getting the advice from people, getting the help and the sort of, you know, I come into this having a little bit of, you know, natural imposter syndrome as well. And thinking, am I, am I up for this? Speaker 1: And one word. speaker-0: But yeah, obviously the people around me like yourself and everyone else, it's just been, you know, the support has been there to help push me along and everyone else as well. Speaker 1: Yeah, that is very true. And I think that imposter syndrome is a funny word. think it's perfectly... The one thing is that I feel like as I progress myself in my career, I'm constantly asking those above me if they feel that they should be doing their job. Yeah. And then reality is some days you think, why am I doing this job? How am I being paid to do this job? And then other days you think, actually, I know what I'm doing. Yeah. I think that imposter syndrome is quite a hard thing to speaker-0: Yeah Speaker 1: to combat as well. How do you find you probably give to DFL the way other technicians and telelampers don't? Where do you think you can give that extra... speaker-0: Again, probably just from my background, obviously I'm way more of a visual person in terms of design and trying to, if I do a design or if I'm doing a project, try and visualize it better and try and take that extra step to the client to show that, you know, we've done extra drawings or a, like a Photoshop image, for example, like an illustration, ⁓ trying to bridge the gap between the more engineering side that we do and The architecture as well. Speaker 1: Yeah, because I suppose within our job, I know this as well, that we do a lot of projects quite technically as well. Have you had your biggest whoops moment in the industry so far where you've kind of, ⁓ that didn't work out the way I planned and had to reanalyze? speaker-0: yeah, it's, mean, a couple instances of sort of starting a report and maybe it's not quite the formatting that it needs to be. And I've had to redo the whole report for example. And yeah, so it always comes back to obviously reading the scope first and making sure you've read what the deliverables are what needs to be done. So in terms of, yeah, in terms of that, probably would be sort of starting a report, maybe getting halfway through or three quarters. think, ⁓ it needs to be this format instead. So then I've had to change it. Speaker 1: Yeah, I think reports are definitely not my specialty either. Maybe I shouldn't be admitting that. It's definitely the area I always get a bit more assistance on. I feel like I learned something at university that I shouldn't be getting fat-checked here, but there was always those in engineering disciplines that were higher rate of dyslexia and a higher rate of ⁓ difficulty when it comes to that in my degree. So that probably could be said the same for all. speaker-0: words. Yeah. Speaker 1: industry. suppose an additional point of view is what do you think, because I expect our viewers will probably be various ages from quite experienced people in the industry to maybe some new people. What would you say to someone who just started and maybe they are the next Lamper or they're the next apprentice, what would you say to them when it comes to getting into this industry and succeeding the way I'd say you have so far? speaker-0: ⁓ Just be willing to learn. know, there's that big gap between whatever your background is starting in the industry. Just be open to learning. There's a lot of learning to be done and lot of applying that learning as well. It's always worth learning, reading, the guidance and learning from your co-workers as well, which is quite important, really important. Speaker 1: ⁓ no, that's really interesting, Jack. Thanks for chatting here. I know it's been a of a laugh in the deep end and answer the question. So, yeah, thanks for chatting and hopefully we'll hear from another person. speaker-0: No, that's completely fine. Speaker 1: Hi, all. ⁓ We're back to speak James, who is ⁓ another one of our Lamp Academy ⁓ people, ⁓ who has been with us for ⁓ a fair bit of time now, actually. ⁓ James, do want to quickly introduce yourself and kind of explain how long you've at DFL? speaker-0: Yeah, so I've been at DFL for two years, five months. And I'm a lighting technician. I'm primarily in the lighting impact and planning side of things. So I deal with planning conditions, outline planning applications. Speaker 1: So I know you've not always been in lighting and pattern planning so do you want to give a bit of background about your story from when you started DFL to I know you've done some a presentation and then to where you are today. speaker-0: Yeah, so I started in your team, residential team. I was there for probably about a year and then moved over to the Lighting Up Back to Planning team to get some more experience under my belt. And yeah, so and then obviously, like you said, I did a presentation at the Centenary Summit. That's very good. was a good experience. Yeah, it's been a good one. Speaker 1: I suppose how have you found transferring from the residential, which for those who don't know is quite detailed design orientated work, to letting in perhaps very much the planning side. How have you found that transition? And I suppose what do you prefer? speaker-0: so residential is very detailed, ⁓ compared to like an impact on planning. We primarily are going for less is more. it's more sensitive. You've got ecology, other bits like that. ⁓ so, ⁓ it's much more of the ecological side of things than it is. anything else with discharging conditions and other bits like that. ⁓ I definitely think Light and Impact on Planning is great. ⁓ Residential is great too, of course. ⁓ Speaker 1: You can say you ⁓ prefer that again. speaker-0: I do, I do, I do like an impact on planning. I think it's a pretty good fit for me as a person. DFL is always quite good at putting you where you feel best, not necessarily going to your strengths instead of just plunking you somewhere, leaving you behind a desk. Yes. So yeah, they're quite good at that. And I think definitely I feel very comfortable in my team. I know what I'm doing and ⁓ yeah. Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's good. I think that's probably a good example of DFL. You're right. They kind of put you where they believe your strengths lie and also where you enjoy it at the end point. You're not going to work very hard if you don't enjoy the work you do. Exactly. So I suppose that's kind of where you've been for, what have you been, the last two years now? speaker-0: So lighten impact on planning has been a year, five months. And then residential was about a year, I think. Speaker 1: So going back to before DFL, how did you fall into lighting? How did you get into those other DFL? speaker-0: ⁓ So I was originally in the Royal Navy, came out of the Royal Navy, had a few other jobs here and there, mostly coffee shops to be fair, ⁓ trying to get back on my feet ⁓ and then went into EV, ⁓ EV charging design and then I was there for a year and eight months. and then one day got a that said, do you want to come in for an interview? And I did. And I haven't looked back since. And yeah. tremendously happy that I made that decision because it yeah changed my life Speaker 1: That's good. Yeah, I think it's been great having you at DFL and that it's been nice having all the amperes as well. It just, I think it adds a level of youth to the company. Not saying that there's not youth in the company because there is. The oldest and I'm not the oldest. So I think that does definitely add some benefit. How would you fully describe DFL in a sentence or a word? speaker-0: I mean, I'm the youngest one here. I would probably describe DFL as the best of every world. I think the way that the company operates is really good. We've got a really nice balance in terms of working from home, working in the office. Working in the office is great because you get to come in, see your colleagues, chat about stuff and share your knowledge, but then also working from home. I find myself that I just can smash through stuff with almost no distractions. So I definitely, yeah, I think it's a really nice balance. Speaker 1: I would agree, think DFL can be very adaptive as well, because it's a small company. Within your role, what is it that you enjoy the most? Within our team, can do drawing, calculation, reports. You also have this side, the speaking side. So what strength do lean on? What do you prefer most? speaker-0: I always love speaking. Everyone in the office will know James loves speaking. I think speaking is definitely one of my favourite things to do. But in terms of work, we're talking designing, I think is my best thing. ⁓ Speaker 1: Thank speaker-0: And CAD, think. it's definitely I'm I like the hypothetical side of stuff as well. So putting stuff in being able to put kind of let your mind wander. ⁓ And I'm quite a yeah. Yeah. ⁓ Speaker 1: Your many things change. Time. Yeah. No, I think that's really interesting. I suppose one of the ones I'd be quite keen to know is obviously you are 21? 21. 21? Yeah. Fairly young, as am I, 26. Yeah, I 27. What would you say to someone who's 16 or 18, maybe the next lamp possibly, joining the company or the industry? what do you think the most important thing for them to succeed within the industry? speaker-0: I think just give it your all. I'd say I... I put a lot pressure on myself to be the best that I can, but I found nine out of 10 times that that pays off. Yeah. So I do try very hard to be and produce the best work that I can. up with communication inside of your team is definitely important. Make sure everyone knows what you're doing as well as you know what they're doing when they're free. ⁓ And I definitely say if you are going to join into especially the lighting industry, it's really good to get out and go to events. Events is definitely one of the good things about the lighting industry. There are many others, but events is definitely up there. Speak at the events in front of thousands of people. Just do it. Even though you're scared, you're petrified, you're up there, your legs are shaking, you feel like your legs are gonna fall off. Just do it. Speaker 1: No, I think that's really good. And I think one thing that I can kind of say, I really think for both of us, is you and I both have a habit of saying yes. I anyone who sees the LinkedIn posts will notice that you and I pop up quite a bit. And I think that's also quite a great trait of yourself, is that you get stuck in, you agree to things, and you end up quickly sat down in a podcast being spoken to and asked questions. So I think that can be really useful. So yeah, thank you, James, for that. I thought that was really interesting and hopefully it gained some helpful knowledge to those who might be listening. speaker-0: Perfect. Thank you very much.