EIC Update Interview: Alison Chappell
A new chapter of leadership at the Electrical Industries Charity.
The Electrical Industries Charity (EIC) has announced Alison Chappell, diversity officer at RWE, as its new vice president. Here, she shares her unique perspective on both her appointment and on the challenges and transformation of the electrical sector.
Alison Chappell’s career in the electricity industry spans over two decades, beginning with npower in 2000 and progressing through various roles within RWE, including time spent in the UK and Germany. Her diverse experience covers areas such as diversity and inclusion, health and safety and managing RWE Generation’s portfolio of closed sites for sustainable energy projects.
Could you share a bit about your background and what led you to join the EIC?
I have been working in the electricity industry since 2000 – I joined npower in the retail/supply business when my son reached school age and I was able to go back to full-time work. RWE acquired npower in 2003, so I have been working for the same company for 23 years now, but in a wide variety of roles and in Germany as well as the UK. I spent two years setting up the Diversity and Inclusion function working in Group Headquarters, and I also led a project to build a new nuclear power station in the UK. Now I am responsible for RWE Generation’s portfolio of closed sites and the land bank, working to regenerate these sites so that they can be used for new, sustainable energy projects. In addition to this core role, I am involved in other aspects of company management, including Health, Safety and well-being and the company’s charitable giving committee. That’s how I first became aware of the EIC, and I was immediately impressed by the work that the Charity does for our sector. The EIC is so well-informed about the main problems which affect people working in the electrical industry, and its assistance is so well targeted to the needs of our colleagues. When I heard about the Trustee opportunity, I immediately put my name forward.
What motivates you personally to be involved in this charity work? My involvement in health, safety and wellbeing at RWE has shown me how vulnerable colleagues in the industry can be – even when they are apparently earning good salaries in secure jobs (which is not the case for everyone). People often work in physically and mentally demanding situations, spending time away from home and with heavy responsibilities. This can result in all sorts of issues, including mental health problems, addiction, financial problems and self-harm. I feel that it is part of my leadership role to help to reduce these problems as far as I possibly can and working with the EIC is a great way for me to contribute.
Is there a particular moment or event in your career that has significantly influenced your approach to charity and community work?
There were two things in particular; one was the suicide of a young employee at RWE, where we only realised afterwards how much pressure he was under and how isolated he was feeling. The training and services which the EIC has developed for people at the beginning of their careers (and their employers) would have made a real difference to him, I think. The second thing was a presentation made to RWE by Tessa Ogle, whilst she was CEO of the charity. When she outlined the statistics on the types of issues faced by people in our sector it really hit home. I
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realised I was a bit complacent, thinking that ours was a high-skill, high-reward industry and that therefore most people would be ok. In fact that was not the case.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the electrical industry today, and how does the charity plan to address them?
The part of the industry I know best is power generation and the services supporting that sector. Our biggest challenge is the massive transition which is ongoing to shift to new, sustainable generation technologies. This will result in redundancies for some people and huge pressure to find skilled people in other areas. I can see a lot of stress and uncertainty ahead, for companies and individuals, and even more people spending long periods working away from home on big projects. The charity’s mental health support services will be invaluable, as will support for people who lose their jobs in the short term and experience the uncertainty and possible financial pressures around that.
From your perspective, how is the electrical industry evolving and what impact might this have on the charity’s work?
Adding to my previous comments, there will be a big need for more and more apprentices and people coming into the sector. I think the
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