Marcus Allan with Ben Hogg in the Dungeness B workshop
26 July 2010
Six students from Kent have jumped at the chance of a work placement at Dungeness B to bring their studies to life.
The work placements have been part of a long standing relationship the power station has with local schools. Pupils from Cleeve Park School in Bexley, The Marsh Academy in Romney Marsh and The Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone have benefited from a placement at the power station this week.
Marcus Allan, 15, from Cleeve Park School in Bexley has aspirations to be a Mechanical Engineer Apprentice at Dungeness B since spending time with the Work Engineering team at the station. Speaking about his placement, Marcus said: “I have really enjoyed working at Dungeness B, I have spent time with lots of different departments. Whilst I was in the workshops I helped to solder some equipment then helped to carry out some tests on a diesel generator. I will also spend time in the power station labs this week which should be interesting. When I leave school next year I want to apply for a Mechanical Engineering apprenticeship at the power station.”
Josh Kirby, 15, from The Marsh Academy, was amazed by the equipment in the station turbine and enjoyed a tour of the control room simulator, he said: “Before my work experience at Dungeness B I didn’t know how electricity was made, now I do. I enjoyed looking around the control room simulator and was even able to trip the reactor at the press of a button which was fun!” Josh hopes to apply for an Electrical Engineering apprenticeship at Dungeness B when he leaves school.
Each student was given at least one employee at the station who they shadowed throughout their placement. Marcus learnt about soldering in the Dungeness B workshop with Ben Hogg a Maintenance Technician at the power station.
Jenny Hollingsbee, Director of Work Related Vocational Education at The Marsh Academy said: “The Marsh Academy is quite an isolated school so it is particularly important that large employers like Dungeness B are willing to provide opportunities for our students. The skilled, wide-ranging roles at the power station are always of interest to students.”
Anne Tapper, Work Experience Manager at the Bexley Education Business Partnership, said: “The relationship we have with Dungeness B has been a vital way of breathing life into the subjects we study in the classroom. The work placements at the power station demonstrate first-hand to our students that if they work hard they really can become tomorrow’s Engineers, Chemists and Technicians.”
Modern apprenticeships in Nuclear power
EDF Energy runs a modern apprenticeship scheme at its nuclear power stations. We are committed to encouraging the best talent into our business and staff at Dungeness B work closely with local schools.
In August a further 6 apprentices will start their training with Dungeness B. This is in addition to 23 apprentices from the region who are currently going through their training with the power station.
The apprentices will undertake a four year training programme. The first two years are spent at the Royal Navy bases at HMS Sultan and Collingwood near Portsmouth and the final two years are predominantly based at Dungeness B.
At the heart of our investment in training is a £3.5 million Nuclear Power Academy, opened in May 2008, as part of our commitment to creating world leading nuclear professionals.
Apprentices can expect to benefit from a £10 million contract we signed in 2008 with Flagship, a specialist nuclear training company. This new initiative brings all the apprentices under a single training regime, based at the state-of-the-art academy at HMS Sultan in Gosport. The company currently employs around 55 new apprentices in the nuclear business every year.
Our innovative, Nuclear Engineer Development Programme (NEDP), aimed at those already working in science and engineering, attracted 850 applicants in its first wave. We are attracting the cream of the UK’s engineering and science talent by showcasing the exciting new opportunities offered by the nuclear industry today, and with the next generation of nuclear power stations.
ENDS
For more information please contact Marjorie Barnes in the EDF Energy Press Office on 01728 653378 / 07875 115282
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies, producing around one-fifth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms. The company provides power to a quarter of the Britain’s population via its electricity distribution networks and supplies gas and electricity to more than 5.5 million business and residential customer product accounts.
EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity. EDF Energy is also leading the UK's nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear reactors, subject to the right investment framework. These new plants could generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.
In its nuclear activities EDF Energy has partnered with Centrica, which has a 20% stake in the company’s eight existing plants and in the project carrying out pre-development work for new build. Centrica also has the option to take up to 20% stakes in each of the four planned EPR nuclear reactors.
Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched one of the biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy company. EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team Green Britain.
EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. Following the integration with British Energy in 2009, the company employs around 20,000 people at locations across the UK.