Roisin Quinn
Director of Field Operations, National Grid Electricity Distribution
The energy transition is one of the greatest engineering challenges of our time, unlocking homegrown skills will be key to progressing the transition at pace.
National Grid, the owner of the electricity transmission network in England and Wales and the distribution network in the South West, South Wales and Midlands, is investing more than £30 billion over the next five years to support the clean energy transition and drive economic growth. Unlocking homegrown skills and talent across a broad range of roles in innovation, sustainability, engineering and beyond will be a key part of their work.
Opportunities for a new workforce
There are a range of diverse and highly skilled roles across the distribution workforce of more than 6,500 employees. National Grid Electricity Distribution is the largest distribution network operator in the country. It is responsible for delivering a safe and reliable electricity supply to 20 million customers in 8 million households and businesses over a 55,000 sqkm area, from Skegness to St David’s.
Operational teams work around the clock in challenging conditions to restore storm-damaged power supplies. Behind the scenes, there are people working to maintain and upgrade the electricity network across the Midlands, South Wales and the South West. The contact centre team is available for customers to talk to 24/7, and they provide additional support for vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register.
To ensure power gets to where it’s needed safely and efficiently, the business is investing in skills and people. They include line workers to put up poles and towers, cable jointers to pull cables together, commissioning engineers, installers, cyber managers, designers and project managers, as well as accounting and administrative personnel.
To ensure power gets to where it’s needed
safely and efficiently, the business
is investing in skills and people.
Careers that make a difference
Roisin Quinn, Director of Field Operations for the Electricity Distribution (ED) business, says: “We’re working on the frontline to ensure people have the power they need to live their lives. We’re deploying people to fix faults on the network. We’re innovating to find better ways to manage the demand for data-hungry devices, and we’re also making decisions about the network’s future needs.
“I didn’t realise how exciting a role a career in engineering could be. I started on the graduate scheme and never imagined I would be leading a team of 6,000 field operatives that are on the ground, delivering the energy transition for millions of people.”
The energy transition brings career opportunities for school leavers, graduates, returnees to work or those looking for a career change. “These recruits will play a vital role in helping the country to reach a cleaner, greener energy future,” she continues. “It’s not just engineering roles; there are opportunities for people of all skillsets within the energy transition.”
Energy transition impact
Quinn describes the energy transition as “one of the most exciting things we are going to live through.” She continues: “Those working in the sector have the potential to be a part of building and shaping that future.”
Bespoke training
There are a variety of training routes to the sector including an 18-month graduate programme with technical training and leadership development, providing experience working in different parts of the organisation. There are also advanced and higher apprenticeship schemes, which include a blend of academic study and on the on-the-job training — all while earning a salary. As part of the company’s ‘rich heritage of skills and expertise,’ National Grid is committed to attracting and retaining an inclusive and diverse workforce.
Develop deeper expertise
Once part of National Grid, Quinn points to opportunities for people to further develop their careers, such as moving into leadership roles or developing deeper expertise in specific areas, across the UK or US business. Having joined via the graduate scheme as a power systems engineer, she quickly moved into commercial roles, policy work with government, construction and asset management and now runs the field operations team for the Electricity Distribution business.
