‘Exceptional’ response to new heat network engineering apprenticeships

The apprentices will spend one day a week at college or university and four days gaining practical experience backed up by effective guidance and support from mentors and line managers within Insite’s highly experienced technical team. They will rotate around the company’s internal engineering departments in alignment with their classroom studies so that their learning is immediately embedded within real-life application. 

“The quality and quantity of applicants we had for this scheme was really exceptional,” said Victoria Forrester, Talent Acquisition Partner at Insite Energy, who co-designed the programme. “It’s clear that there’s a lot of interest among young people to work in the renewables industry, and there’s so much demand for them too. Recruiting engineers is always difficult, but in the heat network sector it’s particularly hard because of the unique skills and complex technologies involved. And with new regulations coming in, it’s becoming even more of an issue. By preparing highly talented and motivated apprentices to be future engineering team leaders, we’re not only future-proofing our own reputation for excellence, but we’re doing our bit as an SME to help tackle a serious skills gap across our industry.” 

With more than 200 applicants for just two positions, the selection process was extremely rigorous. Eight candidates took part in one-to-one interviews and group technical tasks to assess their communication and collaboration skills before four of them were selected to attend taster sessions at Insite’s offices. “It was really important that our new apprentices share our organisational values and our passion for the work we do,” explained Victoria. “We’re delighted to have them on board and I’m confident they will go on to achieve great things.” 

Few in the industry are untouched by the low availability of skilled professionals. A report* by The Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) this summer revealed the widening skills gap has rendered the plumbing and heating profession to be at breaking point, as skills gap widens. The deepening crisis saw nearly 70% of businesses reporting low availability of skilled professionals, a worrying trend seen in no less than three consecutive quarters of survey data. 

Insite intends to develop its apprenticeship programme year-on-year to train up many more engineers, as well as potentially expanding the scheme into other areas of its business such as finance and HR. 

*Source: https://modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/20682/New_data_reveals_plumbing_and_heating_profession_at_breaking_point_as_skills_gap_widens.html