Earlier this week we announced that our Accredited Company Training Scheme (ACTS), held with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) had just been approved for reaccreditation for the next four years. This is an important external benchmark for Essar’s continuing commitment to the development of its graduate engineers through to Chartered Engineer’s status.
Infrastructure Manager, Tracy Hughes, has been a mentor to a range of Technologists going through the IChemE Graduate Rotational Scheme at Essar over the last 14 years, all of which have gone on to achieve their accreditation. Tracy explains why she thinks the scheme continues to play an important role in the future of Essar UK.
“I first became involved in training and development at Stanlow in the mid 2000’s as a Team Leader. However, at the time, unlike Mechanical Engineers and Power & Control Engineers, Process Engineers were not offered the opportunity to participate in an industry recognised accreditation, which could further aide their professional development.
“In order to improve our graduate development programme, the IChemE scheme was introduced at Stanlow to increase the internal standards of the graduate workforce, allowing them to keep up to date with industry recognised standards and also gain their accreditation.
“The scheme is structured in a way which allows Essar to provide graduates with the opportunity to really understand and experience what it means to be a modern Process Engineer. The scheme allows individuals to demonstrate their experience in applying their knowledge to practical situations, to show their responsibility for technical judgement and to continue professional development. Rather than being focussed on classroom based learning, it challenges the individuals to think critically about their skills and competences and how to put these into practice.
“Each graduate participating in the scheme is assigned to a mentor, a recognised experienced Process Engineer with broad business experience, who they will meet with regularly to support their personal and professional development throughout the programme. For a mentor it is about how you can support someone, extract what they believe is the right thing to do and allowing them to understand, from a broader perspective, how this could be improved or done differently.
“I find the scheme a great way to keep in contact with Essar’s Process Engineers and observe their development both personally and professionally. I also find the interactions to be incredibly insightful, often taking away new learning myself, whether it’s from understanding ideas from different perspectives or by simply taking the time to step back and reflect on my own personal experiences.”
Discussing the impact Essar and the energy industry face in light of a carbon zero future, Tracy commented:
“As Essar looks to become a “Green Energy Provider” of the future it will require new skills and talent that can support the transition. This is not just an exciting time for Essar, but also for both the UK and the world.
“We are now in a position where technology is changing at an incredible pace, and as it develops our people will be at the forefront of shaping the future of this business and the energy industry itself.
“It is crucial that we continue to invest in our graduates, to ensure that we have the right skills in our business to be agile and have competent people in place to work with the technologies that we do not have on site today. Not only will this help support their personal career development, but it allows Essar to drive forward sustainably as a leader in a new energy era.”
