National Grid: "What I see when working with UTCs is passionate staff and equally passionate talent"

In this edition...

• The Head of Social Mobility for National Grid UK on why the company engages so closely with UTCs and how the government could better promote apprenticeships.
• The young people who have progressed from UTCs to roles within National Grid, including the arm focused on driving the clean energy transition.

Dear colleague,

Welcome to The Blueprint, the?news and insight platform from the Baker Dearing Educational Trust for leaders in industry, education, politics, and the third sector.

Each edition of The Blueprint will discuss issues affecting education and industry including the skills gap, the implications of artificial intelligence, and the state of the economy.

University Technical Colleges work with hundreds of employer partners, large and small, across the country on a range of innovative projects.

One such partner is the National Grid, which owns and develops the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. The company has been working with 14 UTCs through its Grid for Good programme, delivered by Annabelle Armes and the team from Young Enterprise.

The programme, which supports young people with early career opportunities, has progressed multiple UTC leavers onto roles with National Grid. This includes roles with its clean energy initiatives, where UTC alumni are helping with drive towards net zero.

The energy sector needs the skilled young people who are coming out of UTCs. The transition to clean energy will require a huge reskilling effort, and for new workers to have mastered innovative technologies and be able to provide outside-the-box solutions for problems.

This edition of?The Blueprint focuses on how UTCs have prepared, and are preparing students, for exactly that...

Leaders' Platform: Fergus Hynd, National Grid

For the Leaders' Platform section, we spoke to Fergus Hynd, Head of Social Mobility for National Grid UK,?about working with UTCs, how the utility company is supporting the clean energy transition, and how the government can better support apprenticeships as an option for school leavers...

How is the National Grid supporting the UK's transition to clean energy?

Various ways, so there's obviously the macro organisational stuff, collaborating with not just our own supply chain but with the broader industry.?Be that other transmission operators or the distribution network operators and the broader industry.

We are at risk of being in a needless war for talent at a crucial time when we shouldn't be for squabbling over the same sort of talent pool. So there's lots of work going on in that space, including through strategic workforce planning.

But then also we are working at a hyper local level with our social mobility programmes to stimulate awareness and an appreciation for the opportunities that are going to be available.

We hope to increase the surface area of opportunity for people in communities that might be affected by the work we do, or who are facing social long term socioeconomic disadvantage.

We're not just rocking up to communities as National Grid, we're doing it in collaboration with other organisations.

What skills are needed to deliver on the clean energy transition?

The whole vast array of skills, and I think a lot of those conversations have been hampered by unhelpful, but well-meaning and well-intentioned terminology like green jobs.

I think people have spent a lot of time getting distracted by what makes a green job or what is a green job and what defines it.

Whereas actually it's about looking for talent that is capable of being upskilled rapidly and quickly in all the various different formats and functions that you'd expect for something of this scale and complexity.

So that's everything from what you'd expect, like electrical engineering talent, all the way through to social media, communications and HR opportunities because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

And how are UTCs supporting that work by providing a pipeline of skilled talent?

What I see when working with lots of the 44 UTCs up and down the country is passionate staff and equally passionate talent, which doesn't always happen elsewhere. There is also a certain world-wise approach to talent in terms of preparing them for the world of work, which is refreshing and very welcome.

Beyond that I think the UTCs do create a much more focused, work-like environment than is often prevalent in other institutions, and run an array of courses that is getting ever more relevant for the needs of the infrastructure challenges we face in the country.

Have you been looking at linking with T Levels?

So we're at the very early stages of effectively aligning with that.

I think there is still a lot of awareness building to be done in industry of what T levels really are and National Grid is no exception to that.

But I think when you start going around businesses and explaining what these students doing the T Level courses are being taught and what they need to achieve and you can break down how to give those students that experience, I think it is a mutually beneficial scenario. Through T Levels, we can showcase our world of work to talent that's going to be applying for early careers roles with us in a matter of months.

How do you think government could support the work that you guys are doing?

To help the challenges that we face, I think government needs to think about how it evangelises about apprenticeships, first and foremost, because the challenge that we face on our social mobility programmes is often fighting this real notion that the greatest thing a student can do is go through the UCAS process.

It's almost like an industrial complex of the UCAS as the be all and end all and actually, especially around where lots of the UTC's are located, the greatest possible impact on the students is for them to consider university and apprenticeships.

I think in any review the government does, reviewing how they help evangelise about T Levels, how they evangelise about apprenticeships and support that with heavy firepower communications, would be ever so helpful.

Anything else to add?

It feels like a real privilege to work with UTCs. We really appreciate the staff and the students and how they engage with us.

We know that our colleagues in National Grid who volunteer for the sessions that we put on get loads out of it and I would just be really interested in doing even more with the programme.

About University Technical Colleges and the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

University Technical Colleges deliver a science, technology, and creative curriculum at a secondary school level. There are now 44 UTCs across England, delivering a curriculum designed by and benefitting local employers to around 21,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 19.?

Former education secretary Lord Baker and former Post Office chairman Lord Dearing spearheaded the development of the UTC programme and created the Baker Dearing Educational Trust to support it.

Baker Dearing is now focusing on widening access to technical education nationally, with UTCs and partners and through the UTC Sleeve initiative?

If you are interested in discussing working with the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, please contact us via [email protected].?

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The UTC alumni - and student - supporting National Grid and the clean energy transition

The Blueprint spoke with three UTC alumni and students who have progressed to roles in National Grid, including with its clean infrastructure projects, after taking part in the Grid for Good programme.

Alexandra Johnson

UTC alumni Alexandra Johnson is studying the uses of artificial intelligence in a role with National Grid Ventures, the arm of the utility company working on large-scale clean energy infrastructure to drive society towards net zero.

She secured this role after studying a Double BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering and an A Level in Product Design at WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Solihull.

During her time at the UTC, Alexandra had the opportunity to engage with employers including Airbus, Land Rover, the Royal Navy, and Balfour Beatty.

One company that Alexandra says “really stuck with me” was National Grid. She joined a Grid for Good masterclass that was meant for Year 13 while still in Year 12.

“I was introduced to a class of aspiring individuals, which led me to secure more opportunities with the company.”

In Year 13, Alexandra worked as a contractor for National Grid Ventures, on projects that allowed her to develop a speciality in automation of processes using programming languages such as Javascript, HTML, and Python. She is now utilising this to study artificial intelligence.

“I never thought I would be able to find a job that would interest me or push me to progress quickly,” Alexandra said.

“The support I received from my teachers and my peers at the UTC allowed me to be a stronger-minded individual. Which takes time, progress, and genuine belief in yourself, no matter how difficult it may be.

“UTCs are so different because they prepare you for what adult life really entails.”

Ivy Byng

Ivy Byng has progressed onto a higher apprenticeship at National Grid after taking part in the company’s Grid for Good programme at Aston University Engineering Academy.

Ivy found a role with National Grid after taking part in employer engagement, including a week’s paid work experience with construction company Stace, and submitting her A Level product design project for feedback from lighting manufacturer Artemide.

The 18-year-old also took part in a master class delivered by the Grid for Good programme, an opportunity that Ivy credits to the UTC.

“The UTC gave me the opportunities to look at different apprenticeships by inviting them to the college and setting up the master class with National Grid, allowing me to get the knowledge and grades to be able to apply for any apprenticeship I wanted,” she said.

After achieving results above what was predicted for her, Ivy had multiple apprenticeship opportunities to choose from, but elected for the project management apprenticeship with the National Grid.

Rizwan Shahid

Rizwan Shahid has demonstrated how well prepared UTC students are for the world of work, by securing a job with National Grid on the back of work experience and his participation in Grid for Good – while he is still a student at Aston University Sixth Form, part of the UTC in central Birmingham.

As a student, Rizwan engaged with employers through the Grid for Good masterclasses, as well as site tours, and work experience.

The latter involved visiting various company sites and understanding key operational processes.

Recognising his potential, National Grid offered Rizwan a 12-month contract which he fulfils during one day a week. He contributes to critical tasks such as analysing contracts and updating databases.

Reflecting on his experience, Rizwan credits AUEA for shaping his future: “Without AUEA and the opportunities it has given me, I would be lost in what I want to achieve.

“Now, I’ve been guided to a career of success.”