Apprenticeship puts Dan on path to healthy career

Dan Wilson

The UK’s top energy procurement specialist, Northern Gas and Power (NGP), has become one of the first companies in the North East to invest in a new health and safety apprenticeship.

Dan Wilson, currently a part of the recruitment team at NGP, is completing the apprenticeship with Gateshead College to become a qualified Safety Health and Environment (SHE) technician at the company.

Due to the company’s rapid growth, there’s a business need for health and safety management to be handled by a designated employee. By doing this course, Dan’s remit within his current role will increase to cover health and safety matters that affect Northern Gas and Power’s workforce.

The programme, which is a new addition to Gateshead College’s wide range of apprenticeships, is designed in a way that equips learners with the appropriate health and safety skills and provides work-ready practical assignments enabling apprentices to study but also acquire valuable technical knowledge of health and safety issues.

Scott High, Global People Director at Northern Gas and Power, said: “We are a big employer in Gateshead with a fantastic head office on Gateshead Quays. We operate globally with other offices in Leeds, Malta, India, Paris and Texas.

“We started off with a team of just two people and have grown year-on-year with a current workforce of more than 550. Our people are central to the success of our business and we always strive to help them achieve both personal and career goals. We take the time to invest in our people and their futures. We have invested heavily in our People development this year in particular and it is at the top of our agenda for our future strategy.

“We promote internal progression and the opportunity for our people to grow their skills. We are extremely proud of the determination and drive our people have and we want them to thrive in their career - we support them in furthering their career opportunities in any way we can. Dan is testament to that, and I am delighted with how well he is doing on this programme and with his development.

“These are very exciting times for NGP; I am delighted to say that we’ve won a number of awards for both the things we do for our customers and for our colleagues. We are going through another period of expansion which means creating hundreds of new jobs around the world and many of these being based in Gateshead.”

Gateshead College apprenticeships deliver relevant, work-ready skills that meet genuine business needs, which is why they appeal to organisations like Northern Gas and Power, and similar businesses across the region.

Dan Wilson added: “I’ve always held an interest in health and safety and when the opportunity arose to become a fully qualified SHE technician for Northern Gas and Power, I jumped at the chance.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying the course and what’s especially good is that I get to complete practical assignments about real-life situations and challenges the business is facing.

I want to say thank you to Northern Gas and Power for enabling me to take on more responsibility within my current role by putting me through a specialist course, which is an excellent apprenticeship that provides great hands-on experience."