Engineer Training Programme

The Engineer Training Programme is one of the key ways we bring in new talent into our organisation. The programme is designed to ensure you have all the training and development you need to be an engineer within our organisation, for a variety of different areas (Design, Planning, Safety, Maintenance, Asset Management, Project Management and Construction Projects) - a key part of this training is a fully funded Foundation Degree from Aston University.

Each year the recruiting departments vary depending on their workload and resource requirements, the training programme varies depending on which area you go into but it is a mix of training at our training centre in Eakring (Nottinghamshire), a foundation degree with Aston university and Loughborough College, and on-site training with your local team.

For our September 2012 intake we are recruiting into:

• Substations (field based)
• Power System Operations (office based in control room environment)
• Power System Design (office based)
• Power System Work Planning (office based)
• Power System Safety (office based)
• Electricity Construction (office based with some time on site).
• Gas Network Design (office based)
• Gas Operations (office based)
• Maintenance Delivery Gas (office based)

The duration of the training programme and the training itself varies depending on which area of the organisation you go into. Whichever you go into you have a mixture of

• Off-Job Training which is learning about our equipment and safety in training rooms and workshops which is at Eakring and other locations.
• On-Job Training - Putting your training into practice, on site with your team.
• Studying for a Foundation Degree with Aston University

Field based roles: Substations

• 36 months in duration
• Off-Job Training at Eakring and other locations
  • Year 1 - 6 months at Eakring (Includes 4 weeks induction and 1 week in Cumbria)
  • Year 2 - 5 months at Eakring
  • Year 3 - 2 months at Eakring
• Includes study for a Foundation Degree delivered at Aston University and Loughborough College
  • 28 weeks duration in two week blocks across years 1 & 2 of programme
• On-Job Training at local site
  • Year 1 - 3 months on local site
  • Year 2 - 4 months on local site
  • Year 3 - 10 months on local site
• Mentor for duration of programme

Office based roles: Power System Design / Work Planning / Safety / Operations / Electricity Construction / Gas Programmes

• 21 months in duration
• Off-Job Training (Eakring and other locations)
  • Year 1 - you'll spend 4 months at Eakring (including a 4 week induction and 1 week in Cumbria)
  • 4 / 6 weeks Managed Field Experience giving you an opportunity to see different operational sites across the UK, to get an understanding of how all the theoretical knowledge you've learned translates to the practical work on site.
• Foundation Degree delivered at Aston University and Loughborough College
  • 28 weeks duration in two week blocks across the whole programme
• On-Job Training at local site:
  • Electrical Construction will be at UK Construction sites and others at office locations
  • Year 1 - 2 months on local site
  • Year 2 - 5 months on local site

The starting salary is £23,500. Once you successfully complete the programme your salary increases to circa £30,000. We also offer a wide range of benefits.

The National Grid Foundation Degree is specific to National Grid and the modules are planned around complementary managed field experience and therefore key to the learning of this programme. All trainees are required to be committed to undertake the full programme which includes all modules and associated managed field experience.

If you have applied in previous years, and been unsuccessful, you can apply again although it would be helpful if you could now show some additional experience that would support your application.

We ask you to fill out an application form, and if you meet the pre-screening criteria you will be invited to complete a Situational Judgement Test. The Situational Judgement Test is made up of a number of job related scenarios typical of what you could encounter during your time on the programme. You will be required to consider each scenario and respond according to how you would react to each situation. From a number of options you will be asked to identify what is the most effective and what is the least effective response to each situation. You will not be expected to have any prior knowledge or experience of the role. We will be assessing how you judge a situation and whether you recognise the most effective and least effective reaction to each situation. Then you will undertake a telephone motivational discussion with one of our telephone operatives. Finally there's an assessment centre that tests your qualities against our set criteria.

The assessment centre comprises a competency based interview, a group exercise, an individual planning exercise and a colour blindness test.

No, although all new starters to National Grid have to complete an Occupational Health questionnaire - if anything is picked up from there then you may need to go onto have a full medical. However, as part of the pre-employment process, all new starters have to pass a drugs and alcohol test.

37 hours per week, although exact start and finish times can be dependent upon the location and the aspects of your work.

To join the Engineer Training Programme you will need one of the following qualifications*:

• 2 A-Levels / A2: Grades A* - C (1 must be in either Maths, Physics or Engineering)
• BTEC National Certificate Level 3 in Electrical Electronic Engineering (Mechanical Engineering accepted for the Gas vacancies only)
• Diploma in Electrical Electronic Engineering (Mechanical Engineering accepted for the Gas vacancies only)
• ONC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Mechanical Engineering accepted for the Gas vacancies only) Grade Merit or above (it is essential that the Maths modules should be at Merit or above)
• HNC / HND in Electrical, Electronic or Mechanical Engineering
• Degree in Maths, Physics, Chemistry or any Engineering discipline

We also look for financial and project management skills, together with the ability to communicate and influence effectively across all levels of the organisation.

*If you have studied outside of the UK and believe that you have equivalent qualifications, please can you verify this with NARIC: +44(0)871 330 7033, info@naric.org.uk. Office hours: Monday to Friday 09:00 - 17:00 in advance of submitting your application.

*If you have obtained equivalent qualifications in the UK, please verify this with Ofqual (Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator) through their website: http://register.ofqual.gov.uk/Qualification in advance of submitting your application

Please note: National Grid is unable to provide sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the sponsorship criteria set by the UK Border Agency under the Points Based System. You must have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship to be considered

You will get access to a company car for the duration of your development programme. Once you complete the programme you will only be provided with a company vehicle if your job requires one.

Yes, you will need to hold a full UK driving licence as of June 2012. As part of the programme you are required to be mobile and drive to/from Eakring training centre and your base location, you will also be issued a company car for the duration of your training.

The amount of travelling you need to do will vary depending on the programme. You will be required to travel to different sites to observe work being done, and you'll also need to travel to Aston University in Birmingham and our training centre in Eakring, Nottinghamshire.

Once you have decided if you are interested in applying you will be asked for your home postcode, this will allow us to inform you which of our locations you are eligible to apply for. If you do not live within the set catchment areas for one of our sites you will be asked if you are willing to relocate to be close nearby to a location. Please note that relocation would be at your own expense.

We assess for competencies such as Personal Organisation, Flexibility, Quality of Work, Building Relationships, Learning & Development, Communication and Practical Skills.

Successful candidates will commence training in September 2012.

Preparation is all-important. Be sure to think about your previous experiences (work, education, extra curricular activities etc.) and what you have learned and gained from each of those. It's always good to have a variety of examples at hand. Remember, we are assessing you against the competencies. It's also essential to do some research into the business - and you can find lots of information about us here on the website.

During the selection process - stay calm, be yourself, don't try to second guess what we are looking for or act out of character otherwise you will only mask your natural strengths and qualities. Remember to listen to what's being asked of you as this will enable you to demonstrate the skills you have.

This is an interview where we ask specific questions about experiences in your past so that we can gather evidence to measure your capability in a competence and is designed to find out if you've got all the qualities we're looking for the Engineer Training Programme.

During the first day of the Assessment Centre the dress code is casual, so clothing such as smart jeans, T-shirts or similar. And during the second day the dress code is business dress, such as a suit or jacket, or similar.

National Grid is unable to provide sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the sponsorship criteria set by the UK Border Agency under the Points Based System. You must have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship to be considered.

We are looking for the following numbers for the September 2012 intake of the Engineer Training Programme:

• 11 - Electricity Construction (various locations)
• 39 - Field / Substations (various locations)
• 10 - Power System Design & Planning (Warwick)
• 12 - Power System Operations (Berkshire)
• 5 - Gas Transmission (Warwick/Ambergate in Derbyshire)

Please contact us on 0845 3018999.