Pennon marked National Careers Week with a range of new opportunities for young people to experience the many opportunities that come with working in the UK water industry.
The company’s unique Experience the Workplace programme will give young people aged 14-17 opportunities to develop fundamental skills for their future careers.
The programme has been specifically designed with a number of local partners, to give the young people a real introduction to life within water and the opportunity to explore multiple local industries with the Social Mobility Business Partnership.
One particular area of the programme looks at the South West Peatland Partnership – a collaborative £13 million project delivering peatland restoration in the South West of England. This involves working alongside teams from South West Water, local and regional government agencies, non-governmental organisations, businesses, landowners and farmers.
There are also multiple events being hosted by Pennon’s water businesses, South West Water, Bournemouth Water and Bristol Water, at locations across Devon, Cornwall, Bournemouth and Bristol over the coming months, all designed to help people explore a possible future with Pennon.
Adele Barker, Pennon Group’s Chief People Officer, said:
“We’re always looking for new ways to attract the very best future talent from across our region and beyond, and this programme offers a great chance for young people to experience the fascinating and ever changing parts of our water businesses. We want to set people up for success and we hope these events will inspire and attract future generations of leaders in the water industry.”
Pennon is doing more than ever to attract and support the next generation of industry experts and has doubled its apprenticeship and graduate schemes with plans to recruit 1,000 people in these positions by 2030, along with offering 5,000 work placement opportunities.
The company was recently recognised for its work supporting apprentices and graduates by achieving Gold membership of The 5% Club. This reflects the business’s outstanding work with young people, and in supporting their careers through Earn and Learn schemes.
