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Meet Charles

Read Charles's interview to see what he thinks about working with us. 

I was fortunate enough to have a flavour of working within the Network Services Department at Stoke during my Electrical & Electronic Degree Course and, even though I was only placed here for a short time then, I was inspired by those I worked with and have been itching to get back ever since.

I am a Graduate Trainee Engineer, so my main focus at the moment is up-skilling and absorbing as much as I can from the network experts both within my depot and out in the field. Being based in Major Projects, my typical day and week would consist of observing protection testing, asset commissioning, installation of new apparatus, operation of the network and project managing my own schemes.

The people, 100 %.

Uncompromising on safety and dedicated to the role, my workplace is characterised by talented individuals who constantly go over and above what the company asks of them to keep the lights on for our 7.8 million customers. Often these efforts go unseen, but we all know the feeling of true gratitude from customers when we have made the difference, that is what makes the job so satisfying.

To be the best in a role that utilises your full potential.

As a trainee, though, I get to take full advantage of my position in developing my skills and knowledge to make me a better engineer. For me, career progression within my field is not a major concern at the moment; I simply want to be good at what I do – and I have a lot to learn to enable me to do that!

My biggest achievement is staying ahead of the game by exceeding the expectations of my Graduate Training Scheme.

I am currently tasked with delivering a cable overlay on a reserve 33 kV circuit; this requires a significant amount of electrical and business understanding to coordinate between contractors and different departments within my company.

This is a big learning curve for me, as I do not yet have all the knowledge and experience I need. I can only overcome this by learning from the expertise that sits around me and using it to solve my problems.

I do not think there is a more open opportunity for a young electrical engineer in the field; the role is so diverse that it is up to the individual to carve out their own niche. I believe the best jobs are made and working here provides me with the means by which I can make that belief a reality. If you are fascinated by electricity, wish to work as a traditional electrical engineer and do different jobs every day in different places every day, this is the perfect job for you.