Powerful options for school leavers on A Level Results day

As thousands of A-Level students receive their results this week, UK Power Networks has underlined the apprenticeship and job opportunities available for young people to develop their careers with the UK’s biggest electricity distributor.

UK Power Networks has employed 271 apprentices since 2010 and currently has 56 foundation apprentices undergoing training that results in a qualification in electrical power engineering. We recruited 18 university graduates into a variety of roles including project management, electrical design engineers and other technology based roles last year.  

Emma Barbour-Johnston, recruitment adviser at UK Power Networks, shares her tips for young people who will receive their A-Level results this Thursday and the apprenticeship options available to them:

Powerful job and apprenticeship options for school leavers at UK Power Networks

The UK’s biggest electricity distributor has this week underlined the job opportunities available to the thousands of students receiving their A Level results this week.

The firm, which employs 6,000 people to keep the lights on for 18million people across London, the South East and East of England, has employed over 271 apprentices since 2010, who have wide opportunities to develop their careers.

Emma Barbour-Johnston, recruitment adviser at UK Power Networks, said:

“There are lots of options for those receiving their A Level results this week and it’s important to recognise that some people learn best by doing. There are many routes into a rewarding career, as the apprenticeships at UK Power Networks have shown.

“A number of our senior managers chose to start their careers at 16 or 18 and our apprenticeships are right up there with university degrees as a route into exciting careers which can open all sorts of doors in the future.”

Emma is passionate about offering all young people careers advice and her top tips for results day are:

• Don’t panic! There are still opportunities if you didn’t get the grades you wanted and can’t go to their university or plan to go through clearing
• If you got good grades, but have decided not go for university, there are countless opportunities, so speak to as many different organisations as you can
• Take your time, map out a plan, weigh up the risks and don’t be afraid to ask questions
• Be honest with yourself about your preferred learning and development style and you might find that more hands-on learning, offered by an apprenticeship, is right for you
• Keep a positive attitude and persevere. Some of our successful apprentices applied for places on the scheme twice or more and spent time gaining the experience and qualifications to make their applications stand out from the crowd
• Remember people will be willing to help if you ask

UK Power Networks currently has 56 foundation apprentices undergoing training. They will be expertly trained in the specialist skills that keep the lights on for eight million local homes, schools, hospitals and businesses across the South East, London and East of England. The trainees will spend two to three years learning how to safely fix, maintain and connect overhead power lines (linesmen), underground electricity cables (jointers) or electricity substations (fitters). Their apprenticeship follows rigorous standards and includes a qualification in electrical power engineering.

UK Power Networks invested £730,000 in supported studies for its employees this year and invested £2.1million over the last three years. It’s one of the factors that contributes to the company being in the Sunday Times’ Top 25 Best Big Companies to Work For 2018 and having Investors in People Gold accreditation.

And for those students that do go to university there are also opportunities in the company, which recruited 18 new graduates last year in roles as graduate quantity surveyors, project managers, electrical design engineers, innovation engineers, connections project design engineers and in technology-based roles in locations across London, the East and South East.

About UK Power Networks: The country’s biggest electricity distributor, making sure the lights stay on for more than eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East and the East of England.

Network operators aren’t the same as energy suppliers; network operators manage local power lines and substations, while energy suppliers sell the electricity that runs through the power lines.

UK Power Networks continues to be listed in the Sunday Times’ Top 25 Best Big Companies to Work For, and made industry history by becoming first company to win Utility of the Year two years running (2015 and 2016, also 2012).

The company invests more than £600 million in its electricity networks every year, offers extra help to vulnerable customers at times of need, and is undertaking trials to ensure that electricity networks support the transition to a low carbon future. It also moves cables and connects new electricity supplies.