Friday, 11 May 2012

Working as an apprentice by Rebekah Amos

My name’s Bex, I’ve been working as an apprentice at PCL - working towards an NVQ in Business/Admin for 3 months now and so far I’m really enjoying it!  I thought now would be a good time, as I’ve settled in, to share some of the things I’ve learnt and I plan to keep you updated monthly.

In a typical week, I spend 3 days working on the Energy Services Scheme project, 1 day helping our Energy Training department, and 1 day at college working on my coursework.  In my first blog, I’d like to share what I’ve learnt about the Energy Services Scheme.
The Energy Services Scheme is a void management scheme available to Councils and Registered Social Landlords. Here are a few points about the services we provide:
·         Transfer void properties to a nominated energy supplier

·         We provide prepayment meter devices to clear debt

·         Manage bills during the void period

·         Provide energy advice to tenants along with advice packs when they move in  
I’ve been involved in all of these areas, and have learnt so much including about different types of meters and how the gas and electricity industry operates...And there’s still so much more to learn!
Being an apprentice gives me much more responsibility than studying at college full time and also gives me the opportunity to gain experience in the workplace. In my next blog, I plan to share all the new skills I’ve learnt and hope to report on the results of my recent exams...

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Awarded Green!

We take being  green very seriously and it’s something we practice each day in the office. To help spur us along  we’re part of Peterborough’s very own Green Accreditation, Investors in the Environment  (IiE)


This is our second year with IiE and were proud to announce that we have been awarded Green for the second year running!
Mark Randall, our Managing Director, was at the awards event to collect the certificate and shared some of our successes with the other 115 members –
·         We’ve saved 75,000 tonnes of carbon over 1 of our business projects, with a target to 150,00 for the financial year 2012/13


·         We’ve increased our business activities by a third over  2011/12 but kept our carbon footprint at the same levels as 2010/11  


·         We’ve reduced the amount of stationery we’ve ordered while increasing the usage of Eco Products


·         We successfully took part in Zero Waste Week for the second year running – achieving  zero waste


 Mark Randall (Right) collecting award with Marco Cereste of Peterborough City Council
We’re currently planning on how we can make this year even more of a success and would love to hear what your up to when it comes to looking after the environment!