I have enjoyed the variety of work I have been involved in, especially the hands on tasks within the dockyard, and developing new skills. Babcock Marine (Rosyth) is a great place to be where you provided with an excellent balance of challenging work, development and support.
Kudzie
After receiving a BEng (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering, I joined Babcock Networks as a Site Engineer. Site Engineers are the key interface between the design office and a construction teams (in this case at team reinsulating a transmission tower). My responsibilities were planning & coordinating the resources and technical support, whilst also ensuring that the project was delivered in a safe and timely manner.
Responsibility also comes early with Babcock Networks – very early. Just a few months into my career I was managing projects worth over half a million pounds in project value, with the support of engineers back in the office. It was a steep learning curve but has proved to be a real springboard. I’m now working on much larger projects and taking on more responsibility.
I am currently working in the Design office as a Design Engineer; involved in managing projects, producing tenders, supervising and coordinating the work of others and working directly with clients and consultants.
Graduates are encouraged to take a proactive approach to their training at Babcock Networks, seeking out opportunities for development and responsibility within everyday work. You are encouraged to gain chartered status, and there are always plenty of internal and external training courses to develop skills as required.
I am currently under the ICE training agreement working towards achieving CEng status and completing my MSc (Eng) in Structural Engineering from the University of Sheffield.
I’ve now been working with Babcock Networks for just over four years and the work has been varied. As well as getting involved in different project stages I really enjoy being able to take a project from tender stage and see it through construction.
Gemma
While studying BSc Applied Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, I was given the chance to take a sabbatical year between my 2nd and 3rd year to work as Vice President in the Students Union, where I worked closely with the Human Resource (HR) department. This, together with my degree, stimulated my interest in Human Resources and inspired me to pursue a career in HR.
Babcock best met my requirement for a structured Graduate Training Scheme and career progression opportunities.
Relocating to a different area and starting a new job in a field I had no real prior experience in, was a challenge in itself but the induction training and support I received helped alleviate any worries I had about the job. The learning curve was steep; there was plenty of on-the-jobtraining; recruitment and selection, employment law and employee relations (plus more). I was given special projects to work on, which also improved my knowledge, including researching and creating an Employee Benefits Handbook. My knowledge of generalist HR broadened quickly such that after a year on the graduate scheme, I was promoted to HR Officer.
I am currently being sponsored by Babcock Defence Services to study an MA in Human Resource Management part-time at Derby University, working towards Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
I am also a member of the Social Committee too, which adds more variety to my job. The Social Committee hold regular events e.g. Quizzes, Comedy Club nights, Horse Riding and the annual summer and Christmas ball.
Edward
I joined Babcock Rail as a graduate engineer on the Engineering Management Training Scheme, (EMTS). I spent my first year with the company learning about the different businesses within Babcock Rail. The two divisions I enjoyed working in most were the Maintenance Division and the Track Renewals Division.
My first role of responsibility was with the Track Renewals Division as a Senior Technical Officer. The job is both site and office based: In the office, the work is planned and ranges from producing Method Statements to ordering large plant and ensuring that the right people and materials are available at the right time. Whilst on site, I direct diggers and the laser dozer, ensure the track is safe for passage of traffic, (tamping of track) and am responsible for stressing the rail.I now work on the High Output Ballast Cleaning System in Doncaster as the Principal Technical Officer. My role is basically the same as before, the only difference being that I am the lead technical officer so I have greater responsibility for coaching more junior staff and ensuring that the client’s satisfaction is guaranteed.
In the next 12 to 18 months I hope to become a Charted Engineer with the IMechE. To enable me to do this, I’ve been recording all my experiences in a Log Book, writing Quarterly Reports, (which are looked over by my mentor) and gaining the key objectives as set out in the EMTS.
In my short time with Babcock Rail I’ve worked all over Scotland and England on various category of lines, from East Coast Main Line, (125mph) to single line freight track, (30-50mph).
There is a great sense of satisfaction in what I do, removing up to 3 quarters of a mile of track on a Friday night to seeing the first train pass over the newly laid track on a Monday morning.
Vik
The Graduate Programme at Babcock Infrastructure Services (BIS) was attractive as it offered me the opportunity to work in a variety of different environments and roles, using a number of different skills over a two year period.
The Graduate Programme is a scheme based around four 6-month placements, each in very different environments. It offers the opportunity to work on diverse contracts as the company expands and wins new projects.
When I joined I was given a lot of room to grow and show my abilities to the team while learning about the organisational culture - it wasn’t just administration and coffee runs! I was assigned tasks which stretched my abilities and required me to work to both short and long term deadlines, which really helped me learn a lot in a short space of time.
My first placement was as part of the project management team working on ‘Building Schools for the Future’, which is a government led initiative to redevelop every secondary school in the country; this contract is worth nearly £200m. My next placement will involv exposure to commercial and financial roles which will be based on an MOD contract, a very different environment to my first placement.
On the Graduate Programme there are many training programmes in the pipeline, which surpassed my expectation when joining the company. Already in 5 months I have been on two well known training programmes and will be going on more over the coming months. It is the people that have made the transition into my role so smooth, the support network at BIS is vast and everybody really wants to help you develop as an individual.