Ian Marshall
A bit about me
I joined Wales & West Utilities in 2011 as a Graduate Engineer after my MEng in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on sustainable energy systems at the University of Southampton. I completed. After completing the Graduate Development Programme I joined our Asset Management team focussing on <7bar assets – the pipes that bring gas to homes and businesses across our area. In 2016 I joined the Systems Operations Team as Green Gas Manager, responsible for promoting and developing the potential to inject green and non-conventionally sourced gases into the gas network.
Why a graduate programme?
I chose Wales & West Utilities graduate programme as it offered me the opportunity to pursue Chartered Engineer status on an IMechE and IGEM accredited graduate development scheme. As a company, Wales & West Utilities allowed me to contribute to from the start – as well as giving me scope to grow and develop in different jobs.
Support and development
The support network at Wales & West Utilities is fantastic. When I joined the company I was immediately assigned to a company mentor as well as an IMechE chartered mentor. Both were fundamental to helping me learn my way round the company in the early days and also helping me to identify projects to fill any gaps in my competencies so I could meet requirements to become chartered. The opportunities to develop throughout the graduate programme and later career are vast.
What did you enjoy most about the graduate programme?
I really enjoyed placements around the business and being able to tailor them to suite my needs. Gave me a real insight into the day to day workings of a gas distribution network that serves 7.5m people.
How has the programme helped your career?
The placements in the first year of the programme provided a solid foundation of understanding how the business operates that has been fundamental to all my roles since. In addition the opportunity to take on significant responsibility has helped greatly in the development of my career.