Substation Engineer Review

As a third year Higher Apprentice (ETP), the majority of time spent in the scheme is on site. This allows you to gain experience of the job that you will be carrying out when you finish the scheme. Some time is spent at the academy for training courses however this is fairly minimal compared to the first two years.

Over the course of the three year scheme I've been able to develop skills that are utilised in my day to day role as a substation engineer, such as identifying problems and coming up with solutions to resolve them. Safety is a high priority at the company and so I've developed good risk assessing skills which I can use externally. Additionally I've developed my understanding of power systems and electronics which is important for my role, but also useful for projects that I carry out outside the company.

Whilst the scheme has been mostly enjoyable for the first one to two years, in the past and final year, I have felt that the programme has become a burden, resulting in a negative work/life balance and increasing levels of stress due to uncertainty. This may be because you don't see the people that you started the scheme with (I don't think the programme would have been as enjoyable without my colleagues that I started with and spent a significant amount of time with in the first two years). I also feel that in the past year that there have been numerous occasions where scheme progress has stalled and I've been left in a state of limbo.

Recently organisation has been very poor when it comes to training courses due to a decision to take training planning off shore. This has resulted in schedules being chopped and changed, sometimes with as less as a weeks notice. The COVID pandemic of course has not helped, and the academy does appear to be continuing to plan remote training, however it can be a little infuriating receiving a calendar invitation for training on a day when you've previously accepted another activity or meeting. I have been left disappointed by the "leave till last minute" action of agreeing and engaging with an external awards provider in order to achieve the accreditation for the course (exam/interview). Given that the scheme lasts three years, the decision to leave any sort of planning and engagement with the external accreditor for this exam to the last half year of the scheme is disappointing. This resulted in unnecessary delays to finishing the scheme. Furthermore no liability seemed to be accepted by the training provider, instead blaming the delay on the COVID pandemic even though this could have been sorted well before the pandemic started.

On site support is mostly very good, there are odd occasions where things may be forgotten or have to be dealt with later but that's due to the nature of operations, where emergencies and unforeseen events arise and network resilience needs to be maintained. Therefore any issues like this are understandable. All my colleagues within my team are easy to get along with and are very helpful in helping to explain and answer questions. They are happy to help in broadening my knowledge and understanding to assets and procedures. My manager plans for me to see a wide range of jobs which has allowed me to gain experience on primary plant, protection systems and ancillary equipment.

Generally the training provider has been supportive during the course of the scheme, however I feel as if in the past year the support has slipped. It feels to me that if you're struggling or having difficulties then it's your fault which has put me off from asking for any support in the final months. I hope this is only a temporary issue, as previously stated the support has been generally good throughout the length of the scheme. For instance moving training courses around to better fit the scheme flow and providing additional weeks of revision sessions for university exams.

The programme of course develops skills and the understanding of equipment that is used on the transmission network. This is beneficial to the role as it allows you to better plan for work and permits. Additionally training is provided for topics such as conflict management and difficult conversations which whilst not be a used primarily in my role, they are certainly beneficial in helping me carry out my role better.

It appears that the site sports and social clubs are slowly disappearing which means there are fewer organised activities to get involved in. I am aware that social activities and sports events are still active at Warwick as well as regular charity fundraisers however I cannot comment further on these as I'm not based there. In terms of company representation by the training provider, it seems as if there's already a shortlist of preferred individuals who tend to get asked to do things.

Yes

The Higher Apprenticeship programme is a great opportunity to join an exciting industry at a time where it's undergoing change and the programme is a great alternative to a full time University course. You're given the skills to develop your knowledge and understanding on all of the assets and systems that are in use at National Grid. I fully trust that the issues mentioned above will be resolved and you will have an enjoyable time on the course, not only that but you'll meet some great people that will become lifelong friends.

The application process is straight forward. After submission of the application, typically a telephone interview is conducted and then (if successful) are invited to an assessment center at the Eakring training center. This is a great opportunity to get a feel for the place. At the assessment center, you will be given a small project to work on before delivering a presentation to two members of the panel. There will also be a time based group task and a second interview. Good luck!