Forty-two apprentices and trainees will join Anglian Water this year in one of our biggest intakes to date. The new starters will bring the total number of apprentices recruited over the past four years to more than 130 – all of whom have progressed through either our four-year apprenticeship programme or 18-month trainee programme.
People are the driving force of Anglian Water and the service we deliver. We recognise our apprentices and trainees will play a major part in the success of our future business and that’s why we’ve worked hard over many years to design worthwhile training schemes that nurture talented young people and offer them the chance to gain skills, qualifications and experience while building up a thorough understanding of our business.
We already know that growing your own pays dividends; many of our current senior managers joined us via this route.
The new recruits will be based all over the East Anglia region, in locations that have been mapped to the retirement profiles of Anglian Water’s current employee base.
A few years ago we looked at the age profile of our existing workforce and saw we had a growing challenge. We have many highly skilled and experienced, long-serving employees and replacing them upon their retirement will be no quick or easy task. So we have chosen to develop the lifeblood of our future business through apprenticeships.
Applicants for the apprenticeship and trainee schemes require five GCSE (or equivalent) grades A to C including English and Maths. However, while qualifications are important, beyond that the water company looks for individuals who are practical, problem solvers and who have an eye for the importance of customer service.
We also recognise that second careers are becoming more common. People might want to try something new, turn their interests into a career, and that’s why we look for potential talent, too.
In return, apprentices receive Anglian Water’s full support throughout the programme, plus a salary that increases as they progress. They graduate with a vocational qualification in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering and into permanent positions with Anglian Water, having gained an excellent knowledge of the business.
Phil Brown, head of people development, Anglian Water