WET News

News+ Anglian Water enlists ex-military staff • Water company pledges to take on former Service personnel in a variety of roles, including plant and network engineers. A nglian Water is urging key partners in the region to sign up to the government's Armed Forces Corporate Covenant having pledged to welcome former military personnel and reservists into its workforce. In the past year alone, more than 40 ex-service men and women have joined Anglian Water in a variety of roles including customer service advisors, plant and network engineers, renewable energy managers, and tanker drivers. All jobs in the company are now advertised through the MoD's Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and Anglian Water will be attending the CTP's employment fairs throughout the region in 2015. As a part of its commitment under the Armed Forces Covenant, Anglian Water is working with the Recovery Career Services to help those who have been medically discharged from the armed forces to identify suitable roles in the business for disabled veterans. Signing the pledge, Anglian Water chief executive Peter Simpson said: "I spent an inspirational day at the Invictus Games last year where I had the honour of meeting Prince Harry and Prince William. They spoke about the challenge for some ex- Service men and women entering the world of work. "Anglian Water is one of the More than 20,000 skilled and experienced individuals leave the Armed Forces each year Skanska, Amey, Kier and Carillion are among the list of companies who have already signed the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant Anglian Water employs more than 4,170 staff More than 40 ex-service men and women have joined Anglian Water in the past year CTP holds more than 70 events a year, including employment fairs and industry awareness days Thames Water gets planning green light for the £250M upgrade of Deephams sewage treatment works. £180M worth of work up for grabs as NI Water plans spending spree over the next 12 months on goods, services and construction. United Utilities hit with £750K fine by Preston Crown Court for the Millom pump failure, which led to wastewater entering Duddon Estuary. South East Water contractors gave Leybourne estate residents a fright after being mistaken for prowlers when checking for water leaks in the middle of the night • Regulator accepts binding commitments from Bristol Water on new water connections, but says issues raised applies to the sector as a whole. Self-lay competition case raises 'big issues', says Oat O fwat has announced its final decision to accept binding commitments from Bristol Water under the Competition Act 1998 on new water connections in a case that the regulator said "raises issues of strategic significance for the sector". in response to two separate complaints, Ofwat launched a formal investigation in March 2013 into the price and non-price terms Bristol Water applied when providing services to self-lay organisations. These related to the services provided by Bristol Water to enable the provision of water connections for new development sites, either by itself or by self-lay organisations (SLOs). Last summer Ofwat consulted on its intention to accept binding commitments from Bristol Water, which had offered to make changes to both its structure and processes in response to the Anglian Water, which has several military bases in its region, recruited more than 40 ex-service men and women among its workforce in the past year • Balfour Beatty has been appointed as the civils contractor for an integrated team that will deliver the ten-year Thames Estuary Asset Management Programme for CH2M Hill, on behalf of the EA. • Boulting Group has been successful in its bid for the Operational Technology Design and Build Framework with United Utilities. The group will deliver operational design and build projects as part of the contractor, which includes the role of principal contractor. • Anglian Water Business has selected Echo Managed Services to supply and manage a new out-of-hours line for business customers. Under the deal, Echo's team of specialist agents will track customer incidents, providing regular updates on progress. • ACO Management has been contracted to supply sustainable drainage for a Waitrose store in Stratford-upon- Avon. The company has been working witgh BJB Consultancy and contractor Fitzgerald on the project. "The successful placements to date, as a result of using the CTP's no-cost recruit- ment solution, reflect that the skills gained in the military, along with personal qualities Service leavers have in abun- dance make them a natural fit for these roles" David Duffy, CTP 4 weT News APRIL 2015 specific competition concerns identified by the regulator. This included a clearer separation of Bristol Water's downstream developer services functions, which operate in a contestable market, from its non-contestable upstream services. Ofwat has decided that the commitments offered by Bristol Water address the competition concerns identified, and these will now be binding and enforceable under the Competition Act. This decision means Ofwat has now closed the investigation with no decision made on whether or not Bristol Water infringed the Competition Act. The regulator said the case raises issues of strategic significance for the sector, given that the market for new water connections is currently one of only a few areas of competition in the water and sewerage sector. The level playing field and competition law compliance issues the case raises are relevant to the sector as a whole. Richard Khaldi, senior director, Customers and Casework at Ofwat, said: "Our decision addresses the specific concerns referred to us by two of Bristol's SLO customers. These commitments will help ensure an effective and fair market, which is good news for customers and the local economy. "It also raises big issues for the whole sector. All companies need to understand who the customers of each of their services are, and to make sure they are meeting their obligations to ensure a fair, effective market. This can be a particular issue when a company is delivering both contestable and non-contestable services alongside each other. It will also become even more relevant as competition increases as a result of the Water Act 2014." biggest employers in the east of England and there are also several military bases on our patch, so I feel we have a real responsibility to do all we can to support our Service personnel." Stimpson added: "These are people who have put their lives on T he majority of workers (80%-plus) in the utilities sector believe the upcoming general election will bring change for the water, gas and electricity industries, according to research by Utility Week Live incorporating IWEX. However, only 11% think that public trust and confidence will be affected by the outcome of the election. The survey polled water and wastewater companies, energy and gas engineers, project managers, operations managers and business leaders on what impact the upcoming May general election will have on their sector. In terms of the areas most likely to be affected, 28% said investment would see the greatest shi¡, whilst others believe affordability / bills (21%) and regulation (20%) will see the greatest change post election. However, utilities workers were less confident that there would be a significant change in public trust and confidence, which received only 11% of votes. Only 15% of respondents felt social policies, such as environmental legislation will have any post-election impact. Of those surveyed, more than half (52%) feel the election will have some impact, while a further third (31%) feel there will be a significant change when voters go to the polls. Utility Week Live incorporating IWEX is UK's first event dedicated to the business, operational and technical needs of the UK's water, electricity and gas utilities. It takes place from April 21-23, 2015 at the NEC, Birmingham. General election will impact investment, say utilities • Utility Week Live survey reveals the outcome of the election in May will not impact public trust. the line for their country and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. But as a businessman, I also want the very best people working for me – and o¡en the skills our soldiers, sailors and airmen have are vital when it comes to the great engineering challenge of maintaining and improving Anglian Water's vast network of pipes, sewers, pumping stations and treatment works." David Duffy, managing director at Career Transition Partnership (CTP), said: "We are delighted that Anglian Water has recognised the talent, transferrable skills and versatility of Service leavers. The successful placements to date, as a result of using the CTP's no-cost recruitment solution, reflect that the skills gained in the military, along with personal qualities Service leavers have in abundance make them a natural fit for these roles." Making the transition from the forces to civilian life proved to be a positive one for Anglian Water technician Rick Woodroffe: "I wanted a job where I felt I was working on something that really mattered, and there's nothing more important than the water we all rely on, day in, day out. I've been able to transfer a lot of the skills I developed during my military service, and that gives me confidence that I made the right decision when I took this job on."

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