Fraser gains Distinction after being electrocuted, suffering cardiac arrest and recovering from a coma!

Demonstrating incredible resilience and determination, Fraser also finished his Level 3 Maintenance & Operations Engineering Technician Apprenticeship six months ahead of schedule despite still contending with the physical and mental side effects, linked to his life-threatening trauma.

Back in November 2021, Fraser was conducting routine maintenance checks on a tall piece of machinery at his former employers’ workplace in Sherburn when he was suddenly gripped to the machine by a powerful electric current and the shockwave sent him into immediate cardiac arrest.

His colleague freed him, resulting in a six-foot fall from his ladder, before initiating life-saving CPR and calling 999 for help.

Ambulance crews arrived on the scene and restarted Fraser’s heart, using a defibrillator. He also had significant electrical burns on his arms.

With the risk of death remaining exceptionally high, he was put into an induced coma and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance took him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where he awoke three days later.

A long rehabilitation process then began, starting with learning to walk again and Fraser, now 25, still experiences weakness in the left side of his body, particularly in his left thigh, which took the brunt of the electric shock.

He has also been left with a mild brain injury, but none of that prevented him from getting top marks following his return to education.

On learning he had obtained the highest apprenticeship grade possible, Fraser admitted: “It made the six years since I had first started my original apprenticeship worthwhile. When the time came for my End Point Assessment, I thought to myself, ‘It’s taken me so long to get to this point, so I need something to show for that’, and I tried my absolute best.

“I knew what I was going to do for the practical and I brushed up on all my knowledge. I also benefitted from having spent so much time in the industry, because a lot of that knowledge was drilled into me. I had a far better understanding of health and safety, for example, so I could put all that into the End Point Assessment.

“Emma Bexon, who was College’s Apprenticeships Team Leader at the time and was really supportive when I restarted my apprenticeship and throughout it, rang me up to tell me I had got a Distinction. She was so happy for me and I was absolutely over the moon with it.

“I was also pleased to get it done sooner than the completion date I had been given. That was a little goal that I set myself, otherwise it would have taken me closer to seven years!

“The other incentive for finishing a bit earlier was I got a bit of a pay rise, too, from the transition from apprentice to full-time employee.”

On how College staff aided him throughout the return to his apprenticeship, Fraser added: “My assessor Joel Edgar was really good. He was contacting me by email all the time and the College always made it known that, if I ever needed anything, I could contact Joel, Emma or Lisa Wheeler (Curriculum & Standards Manager for Engineering), and they’d speak about things and sort something out.

“Joel and Emma came out to see me quite regularly – not on official visits as such, but to see how I was getting on. There was a lot of support.”

Having opted to change employers following his decision to return to work, Bridlington-based Fraser found a new company in LGSF who also worked in partnership with York College as apprenticeship providers.

The machinery used and products manufactured were also similar to those at his previous firm, so he could apply the knowledge he had already acquired in his new role, having been almost two years into his previous apprenticeship.

“It seemed like fate,” Fraser pointed out. “The day I left my old job, this advert came up on Indeed.

“I applied and they got back to me, saying they were impressed with my CV and wanted to invite me in for an interview the day after. The day after the interview they then offered me the role and I started the following week!”

Due to its severity, Fraser’s accident was even televised on Discovery Plus in October 2023 during an episode of the Helicopter ER show.

Many in his situation might have sought out a desk job following his recovery.

Fraser didn’t, though, adding: “What happened did knock me but, when I came to terms with it and because it wasn’t a case of malpractice or something I’d done wrong but was just a bad accident, I knew within myself that I had to go back to work and complete my apprenticeship.

“I took the time I needed to heal mentally and physically and, then, I went back on a phased return. I felt ready when I went back.

“It didn’t feel too early. I was keen to get stuck into the job again.”

Getting to that point had not been without its challenges, however.

On waking from his coma, Fraser could barely stand up and was only released from hospital after he proved he could walk in a straight line and negotiate stairs.

Unsurprisingly, Fraser’s accident had a profound impact on him mentally, too.

He received therapy during the aftermath and avoided social events “at all costs” as he tried to come to terms with what had happened to him.

In fact, he honestly and chillingly admits that he would have “probably committed suicide” had he not fully immersed himself in restoring an old 1990 Nissan car for six months, successfully making it roadworthy after it had gone 14 years without an MOT.

“I kept myself busy with that from when I woke up until the moment I fell to sleep,” Fraser explained. “I channelled all my focus and energy into the car once my physical wounds had healed and every single day I was welding it, stripping parts, rebushing it and painting it.”

As his mental health improved, Fraser’s return to work and his apprenticeship has also considerably helped the healing process.

His brain injury has led to short-term memory difficulties and his arms now tire quickly when using hand tools.

But he has come up with solutions and coping mechanisms to combat his lasting injuries.

“My arms tire quite quickly and, with the job that I do, there’s a lot of spanner turning and ratchet work so, where I can, to make things less strenuous, I’ll try and use power tools instead of hand tools,” he pointed out. “I also carry a notepad and pen around to jot things down that I need to remember, or use Notes on my phone, so I do have issues that I have to deal with on a daily basis now, but I’m not technically classed as being within the disabled threshold and there are ways around these things.”

Naturally, Fraser has a heightened respect for and awareness of the importance of health and safety and, as well as for his own self-preservation, he has introduced measures in his current job that are benefiting the whole workforce.

One example is a six-month inspection schedule for the webbed straps used by the overhead gantry cranes to lift steel around the site, which all now have a blue tag to show they have been tested within that time period.

Another is the barrier cream stations Fraser has installed to prevent employees from contracting dermatitis or other skin conditions from handling steel that is potentially contaminated.

“This job very nearly killed me and, if I’d been on my own, I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale, so I try and have eyes in the back of my head now when it comes to health and safety,” Fraser declared. “I naturally risk assess every single thing that I do.

“Even if it’s just walking out of my workshop, I want to know if somebody is using an overhead crane or if there a forklift truck driving by.

“I unfortunately learned the hard way that the steel industry can be dangerous but, being safe, aware and doing things the correct way, lessens the risk considerably. Since I started my first apprenticeship, I’ve also matured quite a lot, grown as a person, have better people skills and can handle situations easier.”

Regardless of his life-changing accident, that evolution as a human being and qualified engineer is something that Fraser believes would not have been possible had he not decided to go down the apprenticeship route of learning rather than the original educational pathway he had planned to follow.

“I got nine GCSEs between A and C at school, so I did quite well but, when I went to sixth form, I felt I’d exhausted my capability in terms of wanting to sit and study in a classroom,” he recalled. “I saw things through with my A Levels and passed them, but it wasn’t really for me.

“I’d planned on going to university and doing an Engineering degree but didn’t think that model of learning would suit me at all anymore, so I started applying for apprenticeships with a few local firms. I liked the hands-on nature of apprenticeships and the fact that you get paid while you’re learning and, when I found out more about them, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything different.”

Fraser added that the College tuition he received has enabled him with skills that he still relies upon now as a Mechanical Engineer, who also does “bits of electrical work”.

“The facilities at College are fantastic,” he enthused. "You can’t fault them.

“I especially enjoyed the hand skills course and I apply everything that I learned on that course, almost on a daily basis, into what I do. I did MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding, oxy-acetylene, gas welding, sheet metal working and lathe turning and a lot of the electrical aspects and engineering maths I learned have come in helpful as well from time to time.”

Fraser’s current job sees him generally based on LGSF’s manufacturing base in Scarborough, but he does travel to the business’ other North Yorkshire sites, too.

Typically, he is overseeing the maintenance and repair of the steel rolling mills that form frameworks for modular buildings, such as the Timpson pods often found in supermarket car parks.

“It’s quite an innovative way of building, instead of brick and mortar and timber,” Fraser said. “I also like the variety of work.

“I know I’ll be doing something different every day. We have so many different machines and I like the fact that it’s not monotonous. That keeps me and my mind busy.”

LGSF are keen, meanwhile, to keep Fraser’s mind busy with continued professional development – an opportunity he is relishing.

“I’ve had discussions with the boss and my Engineering Manager and they were really pleased with how I’d done on the apprenticeship and how I’d developed as an engineer and as a person,” he said. “They were keen to take me on full-time and help me progress my career in the future.

“The owner has said I can go on any courses that I want to, like specialised hydraulic or welding courses, and that they’ll look at anything in the future that aids me in my day-to-day work.”

Fraser's achievements on his apprenticeship were recognised at our annual REACH Awards with a Highly Commended award and emotional York College Apprenticeships Team Leader Emma Bexon, who nominated him, said: “My first meeting with Fraser had a profound impact. I was amazed by his positivity and passion for engineering even with the challenges he faced both mentally and physically.

“Every meeting with Fraser following his return was then a delight and his enthusiasm for his work is infectious. I never thought explanations of maintenance tasks could be so interesting!

“Fraser’s success is testament to a proactive approach and can-do attitude towards his personal and professional growth and, throughout his rehabilitation, he demonstrated immense resilience and determination to succeed.”

Fraser's assessor Joel Edgar, meanwhile, added: “Fraser went from strength to strength during his apprenticeship, developing key knowledge and skills. Despite all the personal challenges he faced and, in some cases, still faces, he successfully built up an excellent work-based portfolio, showcasing his work and was observed carrying out tasks in the workplace to a high level of competency.”

To learn more about our Level 3 Maintenance & Operations Engineering Technician Apprenticeship, please click here

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