I have now been working at West Mercia Energy for 4 months. I have completed 5 college assignments so far and they all seem to be going well. The assignments are designed to push me into learning more in the workplace as I need to do certain tasks to be able to complete college projects.

I go to college every 3 weeks, for a full day. I enjoy going as there is only two of us in the group, so we get a lots of work done and get the support we require. This also helps me get to know my tutor better as well. So far, I have done assignments on subjects like time management, communication and personal development.

Learning about subjects like this has really helped me in the workplace as it has meant I know and understand how to manage tasks so that I can get jobs completed within set timeframes. It has also helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, so I know what to work on, and ensures my line manager knows what I am working towards, so he can support with the training I need. Every week I need to complete a minimum of 6 hours “off the job” training -  This is useful as it assures that I get enough training, and time to complete my assignments.

Over the past few months my knowledge has broadened even more. I have found I am now able to work more independently, more often, and I now better understand tasks I am set. This includes engagement with schools, and suppliers, and many internal administration tasks helping ensure our contracts run smoothly.

I feel as though I have really improved my email communication since starting at West Mercia Energy but also my telephone communication. A couple of months ago I started on the phones, answering calls to the main incoming customer service line. At first, I struggled with answering customers questions, but I am now able to take some calls easily by myself. I still struggle with some calls as I am still learning, but my colleagues help me. I have also improved my excel skills, as when I first joined this was my main weakness. I still have a lot of training to do on excel, as there is lots of shortcuts and formulas to learn, but overall I am pleased with my development.

I have had many opportunities in the past few months including the chance to go to an exhibition, which was very interesting. This exhibition was the Schools and Academies show at the NEC in Birmingham. Whilst there we did some networking and spoke to suppliers and also attended seminars. We have a large amount of schools contracted to WME, so we wanted to learn more about their requirements, but also to promote ourselves so they know about our company.

Whilst there I learnt a lot about renewable energy but also more about West Mercia Energy whilst listening to my colleague speak to some of the exhibitors. This helped me understand what challenges we are facing in terms of a net zero future, and what direction WME want to go in the future. 

I’ve also recently been able to sit in on MS Teams’ meetings as well as face to face meetings with schools and companies. I have enjoyed doing this as it is not something I do on a day to day basis, and again, it helps my understanding of the business and my personal development.

In the next few weeks, I will start working in different areas of the company one day a week for training and experience. I am looking forward to seeing what I like and don’t like and adding to my knowledge of the company and workplace even more.

Thank you for reading, look out for my next update soon!