A responsible business

It is thanks to the people who work at UK Power Networks that we can deliver excellent service to our customers and build the company that will help bring about the decarbonisation of power.

We have developed a culture where people thrive, and we do our best to make our company a great place to work. Our people work hard, and we take care of them and help them forge a satisfying career with us. This is an exciting time to work for UK Power Networks. We are building a team that will take us well into the future, developing home grown talent through our Academies and Apprenticeship programmes, and in 2023/24 we recruited 15 graduate engineers.

Digital skills academy

The world of energy distribution is developing at a dizzying pace and our whole industry is facing a digital skills gap that must be filled if it is to meet the needs of the Net Zero economy. Digital skills are vital in today’s world, as access to reliable data and the ability to manage it are crucial to success. Building our own capability in this field will allow us to keep our strategic focus where it needs to be. At UK Power Networks we have a track record of nurturing some of the most creative, innovative ideas in the business. We want to continue to expand this element of our workforce, to make sure we have the skills we need to continue to push the boundaries of the new generation of power.

Our digital skills academy, which we launched in April 2023, is central to this ambition. The Digital Academy is funded by the apprenticeship levy, so we can provide this training at no cost to the company or our customers. In designing the Digital Academy, we followed the successful model of our Leadership Academy, which was launched in 2021. The Digital Skills academy provides training and a career path ranging from a basic digital skills training programme at level 3, roughly equivalent to an ‘A’ level, up to level 7, which is on par with an MSc postgraduate degree. The majority of our intake in 2023/24 was at level 4, where participants develop digital skills such as data analysis, visualising data and some coding.

We have some 20 employees in the Digital Skills Academy so far and intend to swell these ranks up to four times a year in the coming years. We are starting relatively small, as we build the skills to run the programme, working with technical training specialists such as QA and Firebrand. To be admitted to the Academy, employees must already be in a role that requires the skills that are on offer. The programme includes live training sessions (face-to-face and virtual) which are complemented by e-learning, additional modules and self-led learning.

Leadership Academy

Our unique Leadership Academy goes from strength to strength. We saw 40 employees graduate from it in March 2023. Two new cohorts – at levels 3 and 5 – joined in 2023/24 and we adapted the level 3 curriculum to allow aspiring leaders to join. This means that participants who are not currently managing people but who have been identified as having the potential to do so can learn the skills and competencies they need to manage people before taking on such a role.

A great place to work

UK Power Networks is one of a select group of companies that warrants a Platinum award from Investors in People (IiP). No other DNO has that honour and only 5% of companies around the world are given this accolade. We also retained our accreditation from the National Equality Standard, and we achieved the highest ranking in the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is one of the reasons this is a great place to work.

Apprenticeship programme

We took on more than 50 craft apprentices in 2023/24 and for the first time, women made up 10% of that intake. This is the result of a programme of sustained outreach with schools, including all day events, demonstrations and workshops, encouraging girls to study STEM subjects and see the role they play in a company such as UK Power Networks. Our intentional strategy of always having at least one woman on the apprenticeship interview panel has undoubtedly contributed to this.

Valuing our diverse workforce

This year, following feedback from our employees, we trained all our technical trainers in neurodiversity awareness. Our training team ran 11 operational well-being days for field staff. In the course of those events, we learned that around 20% of our field staff have either been diagnosed or suspect they have a neurodiverse condition, such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD. Managers are receiving training to help them spot and support neurodiverse team members and we have trained over 30 neurodiversity allies across the business.

As a matter of policy, our diversity network is all inclusive; we don’t have individual groups relating to gender, race, sexuality or neurodiversity. This aligns with our approach that what matters is equity for everyone.

As mentioned above, our schools’ outreach is sharply focused on increasing the number of women in our workforce at all levels. This long-term programme, which we began in 2022, starts with year 9 students; our apprentice intake this year shows that it is beginning to bear fruit. We are also committed to levelling up the opportunities available for potential employees, regardless of background and socio‑economic status.

We run initiatives designed to support and encourage school students who might not otherwise see opportunities to progress their career. Future Frontiers is a mentoring programme for year 10 students who are on pupil premiums, and a similar programme called Brightside operates virtually and is aimed at low-income families in remote rural areas.

We are continuing our successful partnership with Urban Synergy which offers paid internships to 16–18-year-olds from under-represented sectors of society and our Powering Potential programme that is part of our STEM project this year includes bursaries and other support for students from low-income households who want to go to university.