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People & Opinion Utility Week community UTILITY WEEK | 10TH - 16TH JUNE 2016 | 7 This week we profile Stephen Woodhams, an asset engineer with South Staffs Water and one of the Institute of Water's Rising Stars of 2016. What was your first job? Network support assistant at South Staffs Water, primar- ily deploying field tests for hydraulic model builds. This was my first 'real' job – but I've been a wedding photographer in the family business since the age of 11 or 12. How did you come to join your company? Following the completion of my 'A' levels I was keen to avoid going straight into Rising Star Stephen Woodhams, asset engineer, South Staffs Water university until I knew the career direction I wanted to follow, so I applied for a junior position sup- porting the network modelling team – the rest is history. How long have you been with them? Six years and eight months. What has been your best achievement since joining? It's really hard to pick just one as I feel I've been on quite a journey already – but I think my greatest achievement is promo- tion to my post as asset engineer within the asset management team. Winning the Business Skills Award to secure funding from Utilities and Service Indus- tries Training to study BEng Civil Engineering has completely changed my career path and becoming a 'Rising Star' with the Institute of Water has been a goal for a number of years and has given me some fantastic opportunities. What preconception about your company did you find was most wrong? Underestimating what goes into delivering wholesome water to customers. Who would play you in the film of your life? Probably Jim Carrey – while he's not one of my favourite actors, his ability to portray someone who constantly drops them- selves in it, can make fun of any situation and tries not to take things too seriously would make him ideal. What's your favourite film and TV programme? Film: Cool Runnings – the chants from that film are commonplace at any family occasion! TV: Scrubs. What would you do if you ruled the world? On a serious note I would like to ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water and sani- tation facilities; for any world leader I don't think that world peace or solving global hunger is ever truly going to be pos- sible, but providing these basic facilities would be completely life-changing for so many. On a less serious note I would definitely make Bernard's Watch a real thing – for those who don't know, this was a 90s TV show where a watch could temporarily stop time – although Find out more about the Institute of Water's Rising Stars programme at: www.instituteofwater.org. uk/rising-stars it was usually used to cause trouble, I think we could all make a big difference to people's lives if we just had more time. Do you have a message for the industry? While the water industry is fast-moving and is undergoing evolution it is also quite oen slow to accept change – for this reason I feel it is extremely important to develop inter- company relationships to allow industry best practice to be achieved in all areas. A more holistic approach to asset management and operations is required across the industry, developing an appreciation for the direct and indirect effects of all we do to ensure that the end-to-end process has the customer as its central focus, and that this approach is not only deliver- able today but is sustainable for future generations. There are improving prospects for sustainability professionals, according to a survey by Environment Analyst and recruitment firm Allen and York. • Specialist staff numbers are increasing, according to the majority of environmental consultants surveyed (52 per cent), with infra- structure investment a strong underlying driver • Job prospects in the public sector remain constrained by the climate of austerity • Pay is creeping up again post-recession, with a sector average increase of 1.8 per cent and 3.1 per cent in the consulting sector • Specialists in due diligence, energy and renewables command the greatest pay premium • The gender gap is narrowing, with the average pay for female survey participants at £41,500, compared with £49,800 for their male counterparts. Improving prospects in sustainability A team of four intrepid runners from the Scottish water indus- try completed the Edinburgh Marathon in a highly respectable time of 3:47:39. Having already raised a substantial £2,600 for WaterAid, the relay team from Thames Water Commercial Services (TWCS) completed the recent marathon finishing 101st out of 425 entrants. Alan Munro, who heads up TWCS's Scottish operations, completed the final glory leg, having been set up in good time by colleagues and team mates Kevin Durnian, Jamie McDonald and Garry Temple. Marathon men raise £2,600 for WaterAid