International Youth Day 2023

1.    How long have you worked for WGM and what does your role involve?

I have worked at WGM for 2 years now and I am an electrical apprentice. This involves supporting electrical craftsmen in the install and maintenance of electrical systems/machines/equipment. I also attend college to study towards a HND in Electrical Engineering and SVQ3 in engineering maintenance.

2.    Can you describe a typical day?

A typical day as an electrical apprentice right now on the renewables department consist of installing Electrical Vehicle charging stations. This includes running cables to supply the charging points, terminating cables and testing the cables.

3.    What projects have you worked on that facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions?

I have been working on installing electric vehicle charging stations recently. This implementation will in turn increase energy efficiency and lower environmental footprint. The fast chargers I’ve been installing are very energy efficient and optimize the charging process.

4.    What “Green Skills” have you shown in your role at WGM?

One green skill I have shown is the use of an electric van to get to site. By doing this I am contributing to a cleaner environment. Also, when on site I make sure to quantify and monitor waste and energy usage as I work.

5.    How do you see yourself having a wider impact on sustainable development in the workplace?

I see myself getting involved in sustainable devolvement in the workplace as I am already using an electric vehicle and am sure this will become the new normal in the very near future. Also, as my apprenticeship goes on and I gain more experience, I hope to get more involved in promoting sustainable development within the workplace through new knowledge I am learning during my time at college.

6.    What do you think the future holds for you in Engineering?

I think the job of an engineer now will be very impactful on the future. In the water industry, the treatment and distribution of drinking water and treatment, and disposal of wastewater will play a vital role in creating a better environment as well as the implementation or more renewable energy sources. As I gain more technical and environmental knowledge, I believe that the future engineers will have an impact on positive change and enhance these processes.

1.    How long have you worked for WGM and what does your role involve?

I have worked at WGM for the past 3 years and I am an electrical apprentice. I am a 4^th year Electrical Apprentice currently working within the Renewables business stream of WGM. My role involves assisting my tradesman in delivering a full installation of Electric Vehicle chargers for our customers across Scotland.

2.    Can you describe a typical day?

A typical day on Renewables begins with a site induction and a daily briefing. We are currently contracted to installing EV chargers with BP Pulse to Police Scotland so can be located in different cities/ towns across Scotland each week. Once on site our team plan each day according to tasks in relevance with the agreed upon RAMS. This helps us to deliver each job within the clients allocated timeframe. From then we can install the feeder pillar that supplies the various chargers ranging from 11kw to 125kw. This involves pulling in each cable, glanding and terminating into connections according to the drawing provided. At the end of each day, we develop a work status update to provide progress on each task as well as highlighting any problems we encountered.

3.    What projects have you worked on that facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions?

Over the course of my apprenticeship with the Renewables team I have been heavily involved in the Electric Vehicle Chargers project for a range of clients including Police Scotland, South Lanarkshire City Council, Arnold Clark, York city council, and SSE.

4.    What “Green Skills” have you shown in your role at WGM?

During my time in WGM I have tried to utilise “Green Skills” as much as possible including:

• Sharing vehicles with others when travelling greater distances i.e., Yorkshire.
• Try to maintain the most efficient speed when driving to achieve the best possible fuel economy.
• Waste management by recycling spare material for future jobs in order to reduce overall waste.

5.    How do you see yourself having a wider impact on sustainable development in the workplace?

Hopefully by implementing all previous knowledge gained from Renewables into other business streams within WGM whilst encouraging others in the workplace to do the same.

6.    What do you think the future holds for you in Engineering?

As I am now in my 4^th Year of the apprenticeship I have started to seriously think about my next steps. Over the next following year, I would love exposure to other areas of the business including Commissioning, Design as well as expanding my renewable energy knowledge within WGM.