LoginPage 3: Roles and responsibilities
At operative level within British Gas there are hundreds of apprentice engineers taken on each year. It also offers many places through its graduate development programme. The apprentice role is often the point of entry to British Gas. An apprentice has an operational role and will therefore appear at the lower level of the British Gas hierarchy. Apprentices need a minimum of 4 GCSEs at grade C or above or equivalent. The minimum age for a British Gas apprentice is 16 years old.
An apprentice engineer is responsible, amongst other things, for:
- the annual service of a customer’s central heating system and its maintenance
- control, design and installation of central heating system upgrades to improve efficiency and flexibility.
Apprentices and trainees need a variety of skills. They need to plan and prioritise workloads, solve problems and act upon sales opportunities. Customer service skills are also very important. Apprentices and trainees report into a service manager.
Training
Maria is a trainee electrical field engineer. British Gas provides her with a challenging work environment that enables her to get to grips with real life situations. The British Gas training programme has taught her many transferable skills as well as valuable hands-on experience. She has found British Gas to be a positive and diverse place to work.
Maria’s job involves installing and maintaining domestic electrical equipment as well as performing inspections to ensure existing equipment is safe. The training programme is vital given the dangers involved with faulty installation or damaged equipment.
British Gas apprentices and trainees receive some of the best training in its sector. The apprenticeship involves block-release training at award-winning training centres. They also work with a qualified mentor who works in the field.
Technical Service Engineers work towards NVQ Level 3 qualifications. These are continually assessed by assessors both in the training centres and in real jobs on customers’ premises. This gives the trainees valuable on-the-job training and eliminates the need for final exams. Coaching and support is a key element of this training.
