Welcome back to Trade Legends — the podcast where we sit down with the real people behind the trades and find out what it actually takes to build a career with your hands. This week on Trade Legends, we sit down with Rich Cockerline, a commercial electrician and self-proclaimed Safe Isolation Ambassador. Rich's journey is anything but straight, from running a plant nursery to being a third-generation decorator to spending 18 months cold-approaching sparks on building sites just to get his first break. He finally landed his job in November 2014 and hasn't looked back since.In this episode, Rich opens up about the incredible variety of his commercial electrical work from Amazon depots and COVID-era hotel builds to working inside the National Cyber Security Centre with zero electronics allowed on site. We get into the real talk too: the fake business coaches targeting tradespeople, why the government's 2 million homes target is a pipe dream without proper trade training in schools, and Rich's passionate mission to make safe isolation standard practice across the industry, because in 2024-25 alone, there were 13 reported electrical deaths and 30,000 injury cases in the UK.Whether you're an apprentice looking for your first break, an experienced tradesperson, or just someone who wants the unfiltered truth about life in the electrical trade, this is the Trade Legends episode for you. #TradeLegends #Electrician #electricianslife #ukpodcast

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