New apprentice swaps horses for courses
Posted by: electime 6th February 2023
The UK’s largest electricity distributor has launched a new type of apprenticeship aimed at reaching more people with different skill sets.
UK Power Networks, which distributes electricity across London, the South East and East of England has traditionally only offered engineering apprenticeships, but has now launched a business administration option.
Ahead of National Apprenticeships Week (February 6-12), one of the company’s latest recruits has swapped working with horses, for booking courses in her new role. Laura Johnson, who lives in Edenbridge in Kent, was working in a large stable yard, but wanted a career with a more human touch.
Laura said: “Working with horses is one of those jobs; it’s physically demanding especially during winters when you’re outdoors, it’s pretty tiring, there’s a lot of waste to be cleared up. In the winter you start when it’s dark and you finish when it’s dark, in the summer you’re covered with flies, you can’t win.
“I did equine studies at college and was working on a really big yard with more than 70 horses. The work was a bit samey and when this apprentice job advert came up I thought it would be a really good opportunity for a new career path, something more progressive.
“I’m only 23, but as you get older working with horses becomes harder on the body, especially when you have an accident and fall off a horse, it takes a bit of time to recover. Riding is something I now do more as a hobby, it’s good fun, but this is my job now.
“Being an apprentice, you are not expected to know everything straight away and it’s been great to get paid to learn on the job and have really good support from everyone. It’s been an enjoyable experience at a good company to work for and hopefully I can be here for years to come.”
Lucy Collinson-James, from Horsham in Sussex, works with Laura in the company’s Sundridge office as another business administration apprentice. Her sister, Francesca Setford, joined UK Power Networks a decade ago as an apprentice cable jointer and for Lucy, 19, this new opportunity provided an ideal match for her skills.
Lucy said: “I had been looking for a long time. I had worked in various retail jobs for about three years and just felt it wasn’t really going to be the career for me.
“My sister works here and she did an apprenticeship as a jointer over a decade ago, so I knew they did them, but assumed it would be more technical and hands-on than I wanted. I wanted an office post so when I saw they had this on offer I went for it and was delighted to get it.
“Francesca was a jointer and is now an instructor here at Sundridge so I knew UK Power Networks was a good company to work for and she’s really pleased it’s worked out for me. I wanted something admin rather than electrical or technical.
“My main job here is to do admin on behalf of the other apprentices. I get the chance to be creative and set up spreadsheets and systems in my own style of how I want to organise it which is great. I had been worried about my career for a while before this so it’s been great to start here.”
Dudley Sparks, head of technical training at UK Power Networks, said: “Apprenticeships and traineeships have a huge importance to the future success of our business and we are always determined to make the opportunities we have open and available to all.
“UK Power Networks is an ‘Employer of Choice’ and continues to provide apprenticeship opportunities for both external and internal recruits to gain nationally recognised qualifications and develop their skills.
“As an electricity distributor it is natural the bulk of our apprenticeships are around engineering, but,with our commitment to Levelling Up, we were keen to diversify our offering and open up career pathways for people with different skills. The office administration apprenticeships are a strong example of us broadening our range of opportunities. Both successful candidates had started in other career sectors, but found this apprenticeship has a clear pathway to progress in a new field.”
Rt Hon Justine Greening, chair of the Purpose Coalition, said: “UK Power Networks are expanding their programme, opening up access to traditional and emerging careers which will be part of a new high tech, green economy. Its continuing work to develop and support young people will provide a pipeline of talent directly from the communities it serves and will also drive stronger social mobility – a key imperative for a successful Britain of the future.
“As a leading member of the Purpose Coalition, UK Power Networks has demonstrated the positive impact that a purpose-led company can have on those communities it’s part of, as well as on its customers and colleagues.”
