Meet the team: Maria Rising
Maria is a mum of three, who goes to the gym most mornings. She’s spiritual with a love for meditation, crystals and the moon. She's also a keen photographer and loves helping others.
Maria installs gas and electric smart meters into residential and business properties. It can be demanding, with weekly targets to hit and carrying out installations over the weekend.
Maria prides herself on providing a positive experience for each customer. She also helps them understand how to reduce energy usage both to save money and to help the environment.
Maria’s biggest challenge has been the pandemic. “It was hard not being able to communicate as much with our customers, especially the elderly and vulnerable. They like to chat or offer tea and biscuits so suddenly having to wear face masks, gloves and keep a distance was strange. Jobs took longer as we had to wait for properties to be ventilated before arrival and wipe down our tools and equipment after each job.”
Maria feels that EDF has always supported and encouraged her to progress and further her skills. “I’ve never been made to feel different from my male colleagues. I love hearing stories about successful women in male-dominated industries."
Maria’s priorities for 2023 are “to continue to be the best engineer I can be, maintain the highest level of professionalism and further my knowledge. I want to continue inspiring women and girls around the world.”
It's about proving that women can do any job we want to. It’s about equality and standing up for ourselves and each other, no matter what our culture, nationality or beliefs are. It’s about never giving up and believing that we as women have the same rights as men.
Maria's typical day
7am: Log-in and review jobs for the day, usually five or six with a mixture of both gas and electric installations. Some days include emergency jobs where the customer is off supply.
7.30am – 12am: Head out in the van. Drop off old metering stock and collect new stock twice a week. Start the morning jobs covering four areas in East London (E5, E10, E11 and E17 postcodes).
Installing meters involves:
- risk assessing beforehand and during the installation;
- checking appliances;
- removing old meters and installing new ones;
- demonstrating the new inhome devices (IHD) and answering any questions from the customers.
12am – 4pm: After a quick bite to eat, it’s time for the afternoon jobs. “No job is ever the same, some days are straightforward and some are very challenging, but I love my job! I also mentor new starters and upskill colleagues which is amazing and so important.”