You were awarded Advanced Apprentice of the Year at the National Apprentice Awards, what does the award mean to you?
Prior to this award the company had supported me at times when I didn’t believe in myself, they put up for this award. I had been a finalist for other awards in the past, but I had not actually won any, so to go from that to being chosen as a national finalist and then winning was unbelievable. It’s been an overwhelming experience. The awards were exclusive and took place on Thursday 18 January at London’s Grosvenor House.
How does it feel to be chosen as a national winner at age 21?
It’s unbelievable, as it’s not something I ever expected. When I first came to Severn Trent, they were telling me that someone had won the award years ago. It’s a great achievement and I never thought for a second that I would be able to win it myself.
Tell me a bit about your role as a utilities engineering apprentice at Severn Trent.
My current role is utilities engineering technician, I shadow a more experienced engineer, to learn the right skills to be able to do the role. In addition, I spent time in other areas such as programming and software. I worked on placements in various areas of the business which was a massive benefit as it has allowed me to explore other areas and I realized I was more interested in the mechanical side of things. Severn Trent gave me the freedom to do that as when I first started here I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
The New Talent team at Severn Trent deal with graduates and new apprentices supporting them throughout their apprenticeship. I was an eager apprentice, trying to get involved and learn as much as possible. I have been here since August 2015 and the apprenticeship is three years long. I also help with the recruitment of new apprentices.
Why did you choose to go into the water sector specifically?
University wasn’t the right route for me, I wanted to learn on the job. Severn Trent stood out as I got the opportunity to do this. I watched their videos online detailing what they do. They give you a great deal of responsibility from the very first day, it’s rewarding to know that you are making a difference and that it’s going to impact so many people, so you really have that passion and drive to come to work every day and do your best. You want a role that you can be passionate about where you turn up every day full of energy, driven to do the best you can, that’s why I started working in the water sector because I am passionate about it.
What advice would you give to other trying to break into engineering?
As a young person, trying to get into engineering it’s hard, but it’s def worth exploring all the options out there. Going to career events, career counsellors and speaking to anyone that might be knowledgeable about the industry. But you do have to be proactive and search for a role that suits you.
Could you tell me what a typical day is like in your role?
I usually start at half seven every day, there are meetings in the morning with the team, it consists of 5 engineers and 11 operators. We have a meeting to review the past few days, then we get sent down jobs, as an instrumentation, control and automation engineer, I get sent down those jobs specifically and work my way through them. I respond to unexpected problems such as leaking pumps or electrical circuits. When I first started I shadowed more experienced engineers but now I have progressed, so I have also taken on more responsibility, I have someone shadowing me, they accompany me on jobs but I have a mentor monitoring me.
What are your thoughts on the utilities skills gap for engineers?
I think apprentices are the key to bridging the gap, apprenticeships are very much overlooked in this industry. I have been invited to schools to give talks as a young ambassador. No one ever really mentions an apprenticeship in school, it’s not widely known about. For engineers who study degrees, they just want to get straight out there and work but there are other routes into engineering. There are opportunities out there, I can’t stress that enough, research your options.
How should it be filled?
My apprenticeship is a bit of a weird story, I was working at my mum’s corner shop during the summer after my A levels, I had applied and got accepted at university. There was leak in the road, and it was going to closed for a week, and obviously no-one could through it so that was going to affect our work. I started asking this guy working on the leak about his job and what he did, I asked him how he ended up in that line of work, and he said that he had applied for an apprentice programme at Severn Trent. I went home that very day and looked it up online, I looked at what sort of work they do with apprentices and what they had achieved. I started the application form that night spending a few days on it, and then several weeks later I had an assessment, and the rest is history.
What if someone doesn’t have the opportunity to do an apprenticeship? What advice would you give them?
Get some work experience, work is a completely different environment to university. Being in a work environment will give you the skills that you need, so what I would encourage is to look for companies that can give you firstly a broad range of experience, secondly, somewhere that will support you and lastly where you can explore different areas of that business. I think that big companies are the ones that I would push you, as they are always conscious of getting the best out of you. Even if you are at university, it’s so important to get some work experience on your CV.