ELECTRICAL APPRENTICESHIPS IN HIGH DEMAND U


K Networks are welcoming 29 new young recruits who are starting their careers in the electrical


W


elcome to the penultimate issue of Electrical


Engineering magazine for the year. As the curtain begins to slowly come down on 2014 it is time for reflection and we’ll be looking back over the last 12 months in our December/January issue. As for November, we have a


bumper issue this month and included in our features we speak to enclosures manufacturer Spelsberg on the metal versus plastic debate when it comes to the material of choice for robust, outdoor enclosures. Our cabling feature has a


definite Liverpudlian twist this month as we look at Prysmian’s installation of fire resistant cable in two road tunnels under the River Mersey, plus ABB’s $30m order from DONG Energy to supply a high voltage cable system at the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay. Energy is clearly an ongoing concern for industry, so we’ll also be taking a look at some of the latest efficiency promoting technologies, along with a focus on sensors, drives and controls, lighting and PPE. November also sees the return of our competition (please turn to page 39).


Joe Bush - Editor


industry. There were 749 applications for 29 jobs on the latest round of the popular training scheme which addresses the skills gap in the electricity industry while generating valuable employment for school leavers. The trainees will spend the next three years learning


a trade in electricity distribution. They specialise in overhead power lines (linesmen), underground cables (jointers) or electricity substations (fitters), gaining practical on-the-job training and nationally recognised qualifications. By 2017 the trainees will be qualified in key roles which make sure the lights stay on across London, the South East and East Anglia. Patrick Clarke, director of network operations at UK Power Networks, began his own career as an apprentice. He said, “Our apprenticeship programmes are top class, developing the next generation of experts to run our electricity networks. There couldn’t be a more exciting time to join the electricity industry, with new technology bringing faster changes in the next ten years than ever before. “The average age profile of our workforce is now 50 plus


so this is an excellent time for young people with new ideas to make their mark.”


The company is currently training about 80


apprentices a year. It plans to hire and train more than 1,000 new staff by 2023 to make sure there are sufficient craftsmen to maintain, upgrade and repair the electricity networks as key staff retire. Hundreds of apprentices have been through the company’s structured programme of training and now look after the power network in their communities. The scheme includes formal training at UK Power


Networks’ training centres in Kent and Suffolk and on- the-job experience putting their skills into practice. At the end of their programme the apprentices will gain a Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) Diploma in electrical power engineering. www.ukpowernetworkscareers.co.uk/


Delivering safety at Women’s Birthing Centre


Kentec fire alarm control panels are part of an alarm control panel system upgrade at John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford Women’s Centre, which will allow improvements to the centre’s evacuation procedures, and the future implementation of loop powered base sounders throughout the building. Designers and installers, Pyrotec Systems, chose Kentec fire control panels and repeater units to replace the existing old addressable fire alarm control panels because of their reliability and compatibility with all the building’s existing field


devices. The nine Kentec Syncro analogue addressable fire control panels and six repeater units will enable the new network to provide a complete building system solution with flexible cause and effect capabilities. Around 6,500 babies are born each year at the John Radcliffe Women’s Centre, which cares for women with difficult pregnancies or babies who need special care. The hospital’s Delivery Suite, which has rooms equipped with rocking chairs, beanbags, mattresses, birthing balls and a birthing pool, is designed to encourage women to remain mobile during labour. www.kentec.com


Enclosures from the smallest to the largest.


ENCLOSURES POWER DISTRIBUTION CLIMATE CONTROL


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