Graduates

I began working at Anglian Water 5 years ago when I moved to Lincoln, after volunteering to help with some student recruitments taking place I decided to go to university. Anglian flexed my hours completely to suit my university schedule for 3 years while still offering career progression and development. There was no question of which company I was going to undertake a graduate scheme with. 

My day to day role varies entirely with wherever my current placement is. This can be presenting, participating in project management, problem solving for placement objectives or getting hands on experience in the field. 

The scheme involves placements around various areas of the business building up a network of contacts and wider business knowledge. There are opportunities to attend utility conferences and frequent graduate forums where senior leader share insight on how to personally and professionally develop as well as showcasing key objectives and programmes around the business. 

Across Anglian Water there is a healthy respect for graduates, and you are trusted to deliver business change as well as deliver key projects. 

Anglian Water have a great people culture, share your interests and demonstrate how you can add to this culture. The programme is about development so show your eagerness to learn and build on existing skills. 

The working culture at Anglian Water is very people focused, both in terms of staff and customers. The make today great programme is a great example of this approach making sure that every member of Anglian Water understands their impact to our customers.

The best things about my job are the willingness of people to spend time sharing knowledge and advice, the mentor programme is only one part of this with many people across all areas of the business providing insight. I am only in my third placement, but I have already benefited from knowledge and contacts in other business areas helping me to provide fresh perspectives and solutions to my current placement area. 

Regular calls and updates with both fellow graduates, my line manager and mentor have helped ensure my development has continued throughout the pandemic. Existing help such as Employee Assistance have also provided further personal and professional support. 

My support network has been amazing. I have regular catchups with my mentor, who provides great advice and guidance to support my development.

The closeness of my graduate cohort helps us learn more about all areas of the business, in addition to the graduate forums, and our line manager is easy to contact and provides support when needed.

Engaging with different placement managers and teams has also expanded my list of contacts, which has been very helpful.

I have really enjoyed that my placements have been a mixture of office-based and operational work, as it has given me more opportunities to learn about all aspects of Water Recycling. So far, I have had placements in Optimisation (WR), WR Networks and Maintenance and IOS (WR).

These teams have all been friendly and welcoming, organising various site tours, shadowing days and ensuring my involvement in numerous projects.

I have been encouraged to absorb as much information as possible during my first year of the Graduate scheme, which is something I have really appreciated.

The variety has been stimulating and I hope that the fast-pace and new challenges continue as I move into my second year of the programme.

Anglian Water appealed to me because it was number one on Glassdoor and I liked the strong environmental focus. I also loved the idea of moving across the region for a variety of different placements, as I wanted to explore new areas and embrace new challenges.

Previous graduates have progressed well in the company, which is a good sign that the graduate scheme is well-regarded.

I chose Anglian Water largely because I already worked at the company prior to applying for the scheme and so I knew the culture and values were ones with which I aligned and that it was a friendly, welcoming business with loads of different opportunities in a whole variety of remits.

Some days I get to go out into the field and shadow technicians and other days I am problem solving and trying to work on improving processes and systems within the business.

No two days are ever really the same which makes the job much more stimulating and enjoyable. You get to experience so many different roles – project management, people management, change management, etc.

 I’ve met lots of different people and always tried to make friendships along the way in each of the placements I’ve been working within. I think this has helped me from a professional perspective regarding building a network and influencing people but also from a personal perspective as I am very sociable and like to engage with people for my own enjoyment.

The scheme works through a series of placement rotations over a duration of 2 years. You will work in each placement for a couple of months and then move on to the next.

This allows you to trial lots of different roles and to start to learn what you like and what you dislike and where you could see yourself working in the future.

You have a placement manager for each different placement which changes for each rotation and you will also have a mentor who will support you throughout the entire scheme.

I personally like that Anglian Water doesn’t have a corporate attitude where you feel like a tiny fish in a great big pond and that your opinion isn’t valued or listened to. Within Anglian Water you are actively encouraged to contribute as much as possible and to speak up amongst senior leaders and challenge the status quo.

I still have a year left on the scheme and so I don’t want to jump the gun too much as I have a lot of opportunities that I am yet to experience. However, as it stands, I would say I am really interested in getting involved in a change management team whereby you’re working with others to implement new ideas and improve processes within the business.

Working from home has been an interesting change to the office norm but everyone in the business has muddled together and supported one another as much as possible. The other graduates and I have had weekly Zoom catch-up calls and the team I am currently working with has half an hour every Friday dedicated to playing a virtual game of Pictionary, Charades, Desk Yoga… you name it.

You also have your mentor who you can get support from if you’re struggling.

No two days are the same at Anglian Water while on the Graduate Programme, I could be having meetings and presenting work one day, and another day I could be discussing opportunities with stakeholders. There is a lot of diversity to the work you can do. 

The Graduate Programme is run over two years, where Graduates experience 3 to 6-month placements across the business. Supported along the way by an experienced Mentor and receiving constant training throughout. 

In my opinion the culture at Anglian Water is very collaborative and supportive. We provide a very important service to the community, but this can only be achieved through working together and always doing the right thing. 

Throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic I have been working from home. However, I have always felt well connected with my team through daily Zoom calls and business wide virtual events. Safety is at the forefront with Anglian Water and their policies throughout the Pandemic have always been focused around the wellbeing of staff. 

I joined Anglian Water in October 2014 via the Graduate Programme; a two-year scheme designed to enable graduates to gain first-hand operational experience in all the core areas of the business. The programme provided me with such a broad range of experiences and meant I got to sample what it would be like to work in a variety of departments before choosing which direction to start my career in.

For me, it was Water Recycling that really grabbed my attention and shortly after completing the programme I stepped into the role of an Assistant Treatment Manager.

I spent 18 months as an Assistant Manager, developing my leadership skills and improving my process knowledge before taking the leap to becoming a Treatment Manager.

I’m now responsible for a team of 16 people and the operation of around 100 water recycling centres, the combination of which brings daily challenges in what is a fast-paced and exciting job.

For me, Anglian Water stands out because it prides itself on excellent customer service and during graduate placements you are given the opportunity to make a real impact to the people and the environment we serve.

 I would highly recommend the Graduate Programme as a great place to start in the organisation and one which provides a sure footing for the years to come!