Internships

I’m currently undertaking the Change Management Internship at Anglian Water. I decided to apply for this role because I wanted to expand my knowledge within Change Management, develop key valuable skills and evaluate how Change is managed in this type of industry and to what extent.

My role varies a lot, as there is a lot of variety in change and no two days are the same. as you experience new things everyday, which is what I really enjoy about the role. My role involves working with a number of different departments across the business including People and Change, Laboratories, Health and Safety and Business Operations to undertake Change assessments, support them on their change journeys and raise awareness of the people side of change.

Throughout my Internship I have been supporting on a number of different business projects to help implement a Change Management Strategy. One project I supported involved digitalising a paper based safety risk assessment onto an app whereby my role involved tracking the health of the project through assessing integration with Project Management and working with the project team and Change Manager to agree actions.

I’ve also been involved in supporting the design and delivery of a range of workshops, throughout my Internship, whilst also putting into practice a range of continuous improvement tools and techniques to assess change impact and the effects.

Throughout my placement I have received a huge amount of support both from my mentor and Line Manager, who has been valuable in helping me develop new skills for my personal development and has supported me through gaining a wide range of experiences, which I can take back to my future career and beyond!

At Anglian Water there are a lot of opportunities to develop. Since starting with the company, I took an interest in learning about the build-up of different departments so reached out to a range who were all supportive and helpful in helping me learn more about the company. I recently had the chance to volunteer in the Incident Room, carrying out administrative tasks whilst working with a number of different stakeholders, which was a great opportunity to learn more about Operations.

I’ve also managed to get involved in the ‘Women in Engineering day’ which was an amazing opportunity, supporting with activities and engaging with students.

I would definitely recommend others to apply for Anglian Water, as well, as I have been presented with some amazing opportunities throughout my time here!

I chose to work for AWS due to the company’s commitment to prioritising the need for environmental and societal prosperity. Working for an ethically driven company, was of high importance to me as it is not only reflective of the quality of work conducted by the organisation but it is also reflective of the working culture and employees’ attitudes at AWS.

I lead, support and actively collaborate with the Change Management team to ensure the successful deployment of ongoing multi-million projects and programmes across the organisation.

The most important skill required to be performant in the role of a Change Management intern is to be a strong communicator. As a Change Management intern, you need to find solutions to ways in which communication can be most efficiently carried out across the organisation. It is your role to ensure that all employees are engaged with the change and this requires a good knowledge of various persuasive techniques.

Additionally, I believe that a good communicator is also someone who can listen to others. To ensure that employees are engaged with ongoing change, the Change Management intern needs to actively seek the opinions and feedback of employees across the business in order to gain better insights on whether the projects/programmes being carried out are well received and whether these are on the route to success.

Adaptability is another key skill which a Change Management intern must possess in order to be performant in their role. The projects and programmes which you work on over several months are prone to change especially when Agile methodology is adopted.

Embracing change when conditions shift is the core responsibility of a Change Management intern.

AWS ensure flexibility within the roles of both graduates and interns as there is the ability to discover different functions within the organisation as well as being able to collaborate with different employees, consequently leading to an in-depth understanding of the company and how teams work together in order to meet common goals. Furthermore, AWS is a highly ethical company which values both existing employees and on-boarding employees such as graduates and interns as they offer a generous employment package.

After completing my twelve months Change Management internship, I am hoping to secure a role within the world of Business Change.

If the opportunity arises to continue working at AWS, I would feel extremely lucky as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working for the company and I am grateful for AWS continuous support in helping me meet my professional goals.

The best thing about my role as a Change Management Intern is that no day is the same. You can expect to be working on a different project or programme daily, whilst also having the opportunity to interact with an array of different employees across the organisation. It is rewarding holding a role where you know your actions have a positive influence on employees and on the company as you continuously look to create exciting new ways of working.

AWS have a strong working culture, one which especially emphasises the need for support and trust. All employees within the organisation are aligned with three guiding values being “Build trust”, “Do the right thing” and “Are always exploring” which make for a positive work environment. I believe that having an environment where graduates and interns feel comfortable to ask questions and feel supported in their professional endeavours is especially important at the beginning of their careers. AWS culture is unique and this is recognised both internally by their employees and externally as the organisation have been ranked as the UK’s #1 Best Place to Work in 2019 by Glassdoor.

Throughout Covid-19, AWS have been extremely supportive towards their customers, suppliers, existing employees and on-boarding employees such as graduates and interns. The company recognise that this is a difficult time for Early careers employees to officially take their first steps within the professional world. Therefore, AWS have implemented a set of measures which I believe have transformed the potential threat that Covid-19 could have presented for the smooth running of Early careers into an exciting opportunity to learn new ways of working and collaborating.

Some of the initiatives implemented by the organisation and which I have personally benefited from include “Meet the employee” virtual chats, virtual pub quizzes and afternoon tea & cake meetings.

Furthermore, I am especially excited about the implementation of an MS Teams which will enable all Early careers employees to maintain contact amid the pandemic crisis.

I joined Anglian Water after studying International Business and Management at Aston University. Having completed a placement year within Human Resources, I was starting to realise this might be the career path for me and wanted to explore further! After graduating, I was keen to gain the more experience in Human Resources to make sure this was the right route for me and that’s when I came across the adverts for the Internship positions at Anglian Water.

Anglian Water’s application process was very straightforward and the interview process was also straightforward and easy. I was made to feel really comfortable during my interviews and I found the process really interesting. I enjoyed it because it showed me that my internship would be challenging and interesting.

During my year as an HR intern I have had the opportunity to work in several departments and learn so much. I am constantly being challenged and growing more in confidence and in my crafts. I have worked on several projects during my time as an Intern, with a favourite being the 2020 Inclusion Week where I led one of the ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions for internal colleagues. I got to lead a host of people from different departments on Zoom, and with the guidance of my manager and support of my colleagues, I had the confidence to deliver!

The best thing about an Internship with Anglian Water, is if you are ready to learn and be challenged, then you will open several doors and opportunities for yourself. Taking responsibility of everything on offer and being open to all the experiences given to you, is the best way to learn and develop.

Staff wellbeing is one of the many areas Anglian Water care about. Even before the pandemic, I was able to work from home on days I didn’t have meetings which saved me both money and time, as well as improving my work life balance.

I have really enjoyed my time here at Anglian Water and if there is any advice I would give to future Interns, it is to be open to learn and ready to challenge.

“I’m studying Business and Event Management at the University of Hertfordshire. I’d never done project management before, but I thought there were similarities between what I’m studying and managing projects – there are definitely similar principles.

Anglian Water appealed to me because of its reputation. I enjoyed the interview process too – the two interviewers made me feel very at ease. Then when I started, I fitted in straight away. Everyone is always happy to help.

“The culture here is amazing! I can honestly say I have never worked for a company that’s so nice and welcoming!”

The role is about managing projects to hit our deadlines. I also help to plan for upcoming events and workshops.

I’ve really enjoyed all the training I’ve had through our online learning platform. I’ve also had the chance to go on days out with different technicians to get a better understanding of what they do. It’s a challenging role but the support is fantastic.”

I applied for the role at Anglian Water as part of my University placement year. The internship is one year long and is designed to help develop skills for employment as well as adding valuable support for the company.

I applied for this specific role as because of the relationship management aspect. I am quite a sociable person and enjoy speaking to people from different backgrounds. A large part of this role requires you to speak to different organisations and understand what their interests and demands are. I think I was also attracted by a large company which would have great opportunities to learn in my short year there. This has certainty been true.

My role exists to support vulnerable customers through partnering with organisations. These vary from charities, Councils and private organisations. We can partner with organisations in many ways, no two partnerships are ever the same. For example, I supported a project working with Councils to distribute the Household Support Fund (HSF). We managed to secure over £500,000 for Anglian Water customers to help reduce or clear water debt. This project is still ongoing so may produce more funding in the future. Another project example would be working with Age UK Bedfordshire. This was a smaller project but equally as important. It entailed working to promote the PSR and make sure vulnerable elderly people are on the register and benefiting form our support services. We did this through working with Age UK Beds in a number of ways.

I have very much enjoyed the role and working for Anglian Water. The size of the company means there are a great deal of opportunities available for interns. I have worked with people form various departments and learned from them all. I have also attended many events with other organisations and members of the public – the highlight being attending the CAP annual client launch event, held at the House of Lords. It is due to our relationship with CAP that I was able to attend this event and visit a historic place of political importance.

I think the support and benefits offered at Anglian Water are excellent. I have felt very supported during my internship and felt I was able to speak my mind if anything was bothering me. In regard to benefits, I think they are generous and in line with the modern standard expected of progressive companies. I would certainly recommend Anglian Water to others and hope they would have the same great experience as I have!

I have been with Anglian Water almost a year, working with the Water Recycling Optimisation team to help deliver innovative and leading solutions to work towards our Water Reycling goals. I’ve always known about Anglian Water, through family working here and living in the region, and have had a passion for water from a young age – I actually specialised in it as part of my Environmental Science Degree. As a result, I knew I wanted to work within the water industry, specifically water recycling, and help solve current challenges and issues the industry faces.  

I started on the internship programme, as the role and path seemed a good way to enter the water industry and find out more about what I may want to do. Roughly half way through my internship, I was seconded into a Project Management role. I really enjoy this new role and feel it’s a good use of my skills; I like the fast paced environment and how each day is so different, due to the variety of projects I work on. This allows me to see a lot of the business.

I’m constantly learning and also enjoy that I’m helping Anglian Water find solutions to some of our biggest challenges and improving the process to help realise targets and aid our operational colleagues. 

I would definitely recommend Anglian Water to anyone who thinks they might enjoy it and would also encourage them to explore the full business, as there are so many different departments and areas of work. 

I’m based in the Anglian Water HQ at Lancaster House in Huntingdon. I typically go into in the office two days a week, which I believe is ideal for getting the most benefit from each environment. 

After graduating from university, I wanted to apply the knowledge I learnt from my degree to address some of the major challenges facing our society today. Growing up in the local area, Anglian Water has always been in the background of daily life and I was aware of that the company was a purpose-driven organisation with strong social and environmental values. As the water and sewerage company for the driest and fastest growing region within the country, the challenge of working for Anglian Water to ensure supply meets demand now and for the next fifty years whilst helping the waterways and environment prosper seemed like the ideal opportunity to work to better my region while also hitting the ground running in my career.  

While it may sound like a clichéd answer, it is true to say there is no ‘typical day’ in my placement. What I am working on at any given time depends on the stage of the price review process we are at; some periods of time are taken up with responding to Ofwat consultations and discussion papers, when other times are dedicating to developing our price review strategy.  There are some reoccurring tasks, such as acting as a secretariat for a working group and keeping our teams Sharepoint site up to date. Nonetheless, the fact that the regulatory environment never stays still and therefore tasks vary day-to-day is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job. 

I would recommend the intern programmes at Anglian Water to anyone at the start of their career or looking to enter a new sector. I can honestly say my team has gone above and beyond in supporting me to find my feet within the role and the business. One benefit of this internship opportunity is that I have been encouraged to take every opportunity to build my understanding of the business beyond my department through site visits and virtual events.  

My placement within the Policy and Regulatory Strategy team covers a huge range of different projects. A lot of my time is spent considering performance commitments for PR24, meaning setting targets for service improvements to deliver the outcomes that matter most to customers and for the environment. In addition, I have been supporting other members of the team develop a customer engagement strategy for the next price review and investigate how we can show our proposed investments for the next business plan are cost efficient.  

In addition to the ongoing guidance provided by my line manager, I also have a mentor within an adjoining department who also supports me to identify opportunities to develop my own skills and experience in addition to my longer-term career goals.  

The jump between university to working life can be a daunting prospect, especially for someone who has never worked in an office environment before. This internship has been a fantastic first step into a corporate environment, developing the essential skills required in any office-based job. However, the skills and knowledge I have gained goes far beyond that; this placement has given me an excellent grounding in all aspects of the water sector, including understanding the process of getting water from source to tap and back again, and the regulatory environment that shapes the space in which water companies operate.  

I have been blown away by the emphasis placed on wellbeing and making Anglian Water an excellent place to work during my time here. One area where the working culture has been particularly good is the support me and the other interns have received from the wider business to make our idea of completing a Tough Mudder for WaterAid a reality. The event hasn’t happened yet, but I wasn’t expecting the levels of support and enthusiasm from our teams to help us achieve this goal.