Forty-five would-be engineers from across central southern England are set to begin their careers with Southern Electric Power Distribution after beating thousands of hopefuls to a place on the company’s prestigious apprenticeship and trainee engineer programmes.
Over the next three to four years, the group of apprentices and trainees will learn how to maintain 77,000km of overhead power lines and underground cables and keep the lights on for customers across central southern England.
Michael Sadler, 18, from Abingdon in Oxfordshire, studied for his A levels before opting for an apprenticeship with the electricity distributor and is now looking forward to earning while he learns. “I decided to do an apprenticeship because I wanted to study engineering without the pressures associated with university and the resulting debt. Being an apprentice has the bonus of being paid whereas my friends are paying to develop their careers. There are great opportunities to progress at Southern Electric Power Distribution, which is something that was very important to me in choosing an apprenticeship. I’m really looking forward to learning more and more about the electrical distribution networks in the UK as well as progressing in my career.”
17-year-old Torin Shepherd from Poole studied Electrical Installation at college before joining the power network operator to begin the career of his dreams. “I have always been very interested in electricity and as a child enjoyed speaking to the man who came to read the meter. When I saw Southern Electric Power Distribution were hiring apprentices, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to become part of a company that would provide me with long term and stable employment. I also share the company's views on the importance of customer service and even more importantly, safety.”
Colin Nicol, Managing Director of Southern Electric Power Distribution, added: “Apprenticeships are a fantastic route into a highly skilled and varied career with us, and with 95% of our recruits staying with us after they’ve finished their training contract, it would seem they agree that our scheme is second to none and our company a great place to work.
“Around half of the energy sector’s workforce is set to leave or retire by 2023, so recruiting talented and committed people is absolutely vital, not just for Southern Electric Power Distribution but for the whole energy industry. By investing around £80,000 per recruit, we are also investing in the people who will be responsible for planning, developing and maintaining the electrical infrastructure of central southern England for future decades.”
All of the new recruits have just spent their first week meeting each other and their new colleagues and managers across the company and getting an overview of the cable jointing, fitting, electrical installation and other engineering jobs they will be doing in the future.
Over the next few years, they will benefit from work experience across the business combined with either theoretical study at specialist centres of education around the south of England or a Foundation Degree in Electrical Power Engineering at Aston University.