Electricity Distribution Craft Apprentice

About Us

We’re National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), the owner and operator behind the electricity distribution systems for the Midlands, the South West of England and South Wales. Serving communities of more than 8 million people, our expert teams deliver heat, light and power for homes and businesses, working outdoors with underground cables, overhead lines and substations that operate between 230 and 132,000 volts.

Net-zero targets are transforming the way we work and increasing the scope of the positive impact we can make. Right now, we’re looking for Craft Apprentices to join us. 

Job Introduction

The Apprenticeship programme takes around three years to complete, and you’ll spend your first 12 weeks being inducted onto the programme at one of our Training Centres. You’ll earn while you learn and develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours to become a Power Networks Craftsperson, achieving a City & Guilds Level 2 Qualification in Electrical Engineering. Your Training will include periods of on the job training and development, learning from an experienced and qualified Craftsperson. Following a formal assessment of your knowledge, skills and behaviours, you’ll become a qualified Craftsperson yourself.

A Power Networks Craftsperson has responsibility for the safe construction, maintenance and repair of the electrical power network. You’ll work on distribution systems up to 66kV (or 132kV if in a Projects team). You can be a Jointer, Fitter, or Overhead Linesperson. We have one Overhead, three Jointer and three Fitter positions available at our Swansea depot. The fitter positions are within our Projects Team. 

Jointers are underground cable engineers who carry out excavation, cable laying, reinstatement and fault location on LV cables. 

Overhead Linespersons are overhead line engineers who work at height constructing, maintaining, testing, repairing and replacing overhead lines and equipment. Projects teams work up to voltages of 132kV.

Fitters are fitting engineers who work in and around substations, using electrical knowledge and skills to install and maintain high voltage plant and apparatus including transformers, switchgear and cable terminations.

Regardless of the pathway you pursue, you’ll represent National Grid and carry out work handed down by other areas of the business.

Ready to power up your career? Join us and impact the way people heat, light and fuel their homes, businesses and vehicles. Keep reading and apply!

*Details in these videos are correct but the previous company name 'Western Power Distribution' is in use, soon to be updated to National Grid.

Weight restrictions apply to overhead and fitting trades based around Personal Fall Protective Equipment, including harnesses and other equipment such as ladders. If in doubt please contact nged.recruitment@nationalgrid.co.uk 

Main Responsibilities

Join us and you'll be involved in craft skills activities on network at LV (Low Voltage - both live and dead or isolated), HV (High Voltage) and possibly EHV (Extra High Voltage). You may even work on live HV circuits if you become part of a "Hot Glove" team!

You’ll help with network operations, connect generators and services and organise your own projects, in addition you will:

• Construct distribution substations, construct and alter overhead lines, install plant, lay and joint cables, terminate cables to plant and overhead lines
• Carry out routine inspection, maintenance and repairs of underground, overhead, substation and protection equipment
• Record asset routes, details and positions
• Record plant details
• Locate and identify cables, test insulation, phasing and continuity on LV cables
• Test earthing, voltage, phasing and phase rotation
• Write outage requests and switching programmes for simple outages

Our Culture

6,700 colleagues share our vision to be at the heart of a clean, fair, affordable energy future. If this appeals to you too, you could soon work in a supportive, rewarding and friendly environment that empowers everyone to succeed. We live by our values of doing the right thing, finding a better way and using our drive to make things happen every day. That’s why we’ll help you build a worthwhile career to be proud of – whatever your role and passion. Together we can bring energy to life using your enthusiasm and the latest technology.

The Ideal Candidate

We need you to have excellent communication skills; one moment, you could be speaking with customers, and the next, colleagues or internal stakeholders. Your success relies on your confidence to interact with the wider business. As you’ll be working outdoors, we need you to be adventurous and driven to work in all weather. Safety awareness is a must (you’ll follow safety instructions, use protective equipment and wear protective clothing), as is meeting deadlines. You’ll be resilient and willing to learn, genuinely passionate about your career and committed to studying. Curious problem solvers thrive here!

Our minimum entry criteria require the following qualifications (held or predicted):

• GCSE English Language at Grade A*– C / 9 – 4
• GCSE Mathematics at Grade A*– C / 9 – 4
• GCSE Science at Grade A*– C / 9 – 4  or BTEC Science Level 2 equivalent
• Two other GCSE's in any subject at the above grades

You can also apply with a recognised Level 3 qualification in Electrical Engineering plus GCSE Grade C/4 or above in Maths and English Language. Whatever qualifications you hold, we will need to see evidence of them for you to be considered.

Start date September 2023.Please note that we are unable to accommodate any annual leave during these first 12 weeks of training. 

If you are offered a position, you will be required to successfully complete a basic DBS check that shows any unspent convictions or conditional cautions.

Operationally we require you to live within approximately 30 minutes of the depot you are applying for. Please only submit one application. If you appear to be a good match for more than one location, we will consider your suitability during the process. Multiple applications will not be considered.

Your Benefits

Joining the UK’s leading electricity distribution business means plenty of career opportunities and well-deserved recognition. We reward hard work and encourage ambition. So, as well as a competitive starting salary of £15,388, you’ll have 23 days annual leave (26 when you complete training), plus 8 bank holidays. Your eventual Craftsperson’s salary will be £36,148. You can use our competitive contributory pension scheme (we double match your contributions up to a maximum of 10%), and you could even benefit from our annual Share Save plan. We supply your protective clothing and safety equipment, and there’s free parking at all our main sites. Our Employee Assistance Programme is there to take care of you and includes musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services if you need them.

About The Company

As an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we celebrate individual difference and are actively bringing in more employees from diverse backgrounds to build on our inclusive culture. We anonymise all jobs in our recruitment system, so we can eliminate unconscious bias and be a workplace that reflects the community we serve. Hiring managers only have access to necessary information after shortlisting has taken place and before interview so they can prepare.

Additional Application Information

Recruitment correspondence is usually sent by email, so please do check your email account including spam/junk folders regularly after the closing date.

To enhance your candidate experience, we recommend using Google Chrome to complete your online application. Should you have any questions regarding this or require additional support to complete your online application, please email nged.recruitment@nationalgrid.co.uk

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible.