2024 WECA Northern California Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship Valedictorian Christian Farley says of WECA’s program that “You can learn many things on a job site, but with WECA classrooms and instructors, you can basically touch any electrical subject and be properly informed.”

Christian, who studied at WECA’s Fresno Apprenticeship Training Center, credits WECA and the Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship Program curriculum with giving him the skills and the confidence to be assured in his career.

“The instructors helped walk students through various electrical scopes and are informative in the classroom as well as in the labs to ensure every student understands what to do and how to do it,” Christian says. “Learning how to navigate the NEC, read plans, proper wiring methods, and even being able to call the instructors has been an invaluable experience. Without WECA, I would not have had the valuable exposure and been formed into a skilled and trained state-certified journeyman. That experience is so valuable for anyone seeking to be a competent and skilled electrician.”

Christian’s learned skills and acquired confidence translated well into his performance on the job site with various WECA Member Contractors, most recently C3 Electric, and previously with members Imperial Electric Service and Westech Systems, LLC.

“I had the opportunity to work for big shops and small shops. The interesting thing is that I was able to do underground, service calls, commercial, residential, and industrial. WECA works with many contractors who each have their own niche and each employer I have worked for has been a learning experience in each scope. The on-the-job training was a great experience and taught me many additional skills and gave me self-worth,” recalls Christian.

However, Christian acknowledges that a lot of his success can be attributed to his self-determination, as well as his robust support system in the classroom and at home.

“It has been very important to me to give the very best of myself to whatever it is that I do. We are the ones in the driving seat of our learning experience,” says Christian. “We get out of our experience what we put in. Showing up every day and putting in the work and trying to master my craft one step at a time has yielded benefits. You reap what you sow, so always give your best.”

Support-wise, Christian thanks “My beautiful wife, Cathryn, for being there for me every single day. My son, Seth, my legacy and my responsibility to train up in the right ways. WECA for being an institution with high standards and for the quality of the learning experience. And a huge thank-you to (WECA apprenticeship instructors) George Leach for his many decades of electrical experience and his ability to share that valuable knowledge with the class, and Jaron Stroud for diving in deep on electrical concepts and encouraging students to trust the process of learning and to implement what we learned.”

In that same vein, Christian advises current and future WECA apprentices to trust the process.

“WECA has a proven model that yields tremendous benefit in learning, on-the-job training, pay, and more. Trust the process and take your education seriously. You get out of the program what you put in, so with the many resources that WECA provides, utilize them to become the best you can be. In the end, you will be skilled and certified, and that experience alone is very rewarding,” says Christian.

Rewarding, indeed: in the future, Christian aspires to start his own electrical contracting business in California’s Central Valley region and to take the skills that he has learned at WECA to provide high-quality electrical work in the region. Additionally, Christian also plans to come full-circle and train apprentices through WECA so that they are properly trained for the electrical field.

Congratulations on your graduation and accomplishments, Christian, and for planning to train your future apprentices through WECA – an enduring testament to the quality and power of WECA’s electrical education! We look forward to sharing in your success in California’s Central Valley in the future.