The 8^th of March brings International Women’s Day, and here at Energetics we want to celebrate the women that work in construction, engineering and utilities every day, not just here at Energetics but across the world.

We believe in equal rights throughout the construction industry, but statistics prove that this isn’t the case across the UK. So, we thought we would take some time to celebrate the women who work in construction, and the ones who are breaking barriers to enter such a competitive, male dominant field.

In 2005, only 5% of senior construction roles were fulfilled by women, and disappointingly, 66% of these women felt they were treated unequally. Some 11 years later in 2016, the number of women working senior roles has risen to 16%, with a substantially lower 29% feeling they were treated as unequal. Female’s working in both senior and manual construction roles is expected to amount to 26% of the UK’s construction force, but this could, and should be higher.

Energetics see roles in construction, utilities and engineering as equal opportunities. These fields require highly skilled individuals to take on their numerous responsibilities, however these assets do not come down to gender, they are built on how determined, and passionate each person is. Having some of our most senior roles such as HR Director and Associate Director of Business Systems, filled by incredibly talented women is something we are proud of at Energetics, and will continue to fill similar roles throughout the company despite gender barriers perceived in the industry.

Nazmin Makda, Group Communications & Marketing Manager, comments; “It’s refreshing to work at a company like Energetics where gender is not taken into consideration despite operating in such a predominantly male industry. To see so many women excelling in construction and engineering roles is both inspiring and exciting.”

At Energetics, we pride ourselves on employing highly skilled individuals, no matter their gender to ensure the highest standard of work is always carried out. To learn more about International Women’s Day and how you can get involved, click here or to view our current vacancies and see if you could break new ground in a career in construction, click here.

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, Safer Internet Day sees hundreds of organisations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology. It calls upon everyone from young people and parents to law enforcement and businesses to join together in helping to create a better internet, and we want you to get involved.

Cybercrime costs the UK £27bn every year, and 80% of it is preventable. So, there are a number of small changes you can make each day whether browsing the web or online banking, that can help ensure you stay safe and secure when using the internet.

Smart passwords

First and foremost, don’t use an easily guessable password; it can take just 7 milliseconds for a hacker to crack a common password. In 2016, some of the most common passwords worryingly included ‘1234’ and ‘qwerty’, so make sure your password is longer than 11 characters and don’t use the same password across multiple sites.

Be wary of free Wi-Fi

Although it can be a great perk when out and about, free Wi-Fi is a place where information is easily intercepted and fraudsters may even set up their own hotspots to harvest important information. If you are using a free hotspot, ensure you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which encrypts your private information.

Check and double check

When clicking on any links from external sources or emails, it is important to carefully check the link is legitimate. The best way to do this is to hover over it before clicking to see the actual address that the link represents. For example, when you hover over this link: Click here to go to Energetics you will see that it actually takes you to the Coca Cola website.

Be aware of email scams

It’s not just surfing the web that can present online threats – emails aren’t always what they seem, and some may have the potential to infect your computer or even trick you into giving away important information. Therefore, never open attachments from unknown sources, and if you receive an email asking for sensitive information from an address claiming to be someone you know, simply call your contact to confirm the request before acting upon it.

Commenting on the safe use of internet, Drew Sharkey, Energetics Business Systems Manager, says; “Online safety is of utmost importance to the whole team at Energetics, and by implementing simple steps such as enhanced password security and being cautious with links, each member of staff can unite for a safer internet experience in general. As with any safety methods at Energetics, prevention is better than cure, which is why firewalls and desktop protection is essential, and should be to all businesses.”

To learn more about Safer Internet Day, and find out how you can get involved, visit https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2017 or use the hashtag #SID2017 when tweeting your support.

December and the festive period are arguably the busiest time of the year, and while this often puts a strain on our wallets due to presents, parties and food, what about energy use? Recent research shows the average household can spend up to £50 extra on gas and electricity in December, putting added pressure on your energy bills as well.

Collectively in the UK, simply cooking the Christmas dinner leaves the country with a staggering £15m energy bill, and the pretty lights decorating houses cost £3.75m every day to leave on.
With over a quarter of UK residents imagining that their post-Christmas energy bill will be significantly more expensive, a worrying 42% said they would be concerned about the impact an energy bill hike would have on their finances, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

At Energetics, we believe that everyone can do their small part to help reduce additional carbon emissions and energy output where possible, by doing some of the following:
• Cook smart – find more energy efficient ways of cooking the Christmas dinner such as steaming vegetables, using the correct size pan and ring, and keeping the lid on pans to reduce heat loss and cooking time.
• Turn it off – instead of leaving TV’s and gadgets on standby or on for background noise, simply turn them off fully to reduce unnecessary energy output. Simple things like switching off the Christmas tree lights when no one is in the room can also benefit – every little helps!
• Go LED – LED Christmas lights use a huge 90% less energy than a traditional filament set of Christmas lights, and although they can be slightly more expensive, are a worthy investment as they last longer and are more energy efficient.

By baring these tips in mind, it can help you keep your energy bill down and your festive spirits up at Christmas. Commenting on the effects of energy usage at Christmas, Energetics Electricity Manager, Andy Halpin says:“The combined impact of energy usage at Christmas can actually make a significant difference to the UK’s overall energy output. So, making a few small changes at home over the festive break could have a big impact on your energy bill come January.”

With growth in construction returning across the country (2.5% growth per year), it is predicted that by 2025, 221,000 vacancies will be created by the energy and utilities sector. It is expected that levels of investment will return to those last seen before the recession in 2008, and with this growth comes the need for improved health and safety for all workers. As a result, Energetics have been working in partnership with Energy and Utility skills to come up with a new, innovating and engaging training resource.

As members of the EUSR Utility and Contractors Group, Energetics representatives have been working in partnership with Energy and Utility skills to help produce a series of engaging and effective training films that we hope will improve awareness, safety and skills of the workforce across the whole energy and utilities sector. This is part of a bigger project that has received a £60,000 fund from the Construction Industry Training Board, and will cover many relevant topics like risk assessments and safe digging at street works.

Energetics has been involved in the second edition to be added to the ‘Highways the Right Way’ series, with Training & Development Manager, Andrew Young, and Garry Fryer, Senior Team Leader at our regional Midlands depot, attending a series of meetings with EU Skills to help determine what the key content of the video should be, as well as contributing to script writing.

The resulting video aims to ensure the safety of those working within the energy and utilities sector and will be utilised in a number of ways such as refresher training for more experienced workers within the industry; an introduction for new employees; or used for one-to-one training sessions.

Andrew Young comments: “It was a case of being in the right place at the right time, having attended a Contractors Group networking event earlier this year, where we were asked if we wanted to be involved in the training video. We’re delighted to have Energetics’ name on the credits and to have contributed to the safety training of industry employees.”

The free training video is extremely entertaining whilst conveying key safety and skills messages, and you can view it here.

We are pleased to report that Amanda Jolley, an Energetics Administrator based in the North West Depot, Warrington, successfully completed the 10km walk in aid of The Walking with the Wounded Charity.

Amanda was accompanied by her fellow team members of the Game Changing Team at Warrington Wolves Foundation and she has to date raised over £245.

Although the walk is over, you can still donate and pledge money via Amanda’s Just Giving Page. Click here for more details.

Energetics Scottish based Project Manager, Gerard McHenry has recently gone back to school to talk to the primary school children of Priorsford Primary School all about electricity, including how electricity is made and how Energetics help in getting the electricity to people’s homes so they can switch on their lights, watch their TV and play on their computers.

Gerard’s daughter is a pupil at the school and as they were doing a project on electricity, he was asked by her teacher if he would visit the school and give a short presentation to the children. The talk lasted about half an hour with approx. 65 pupils in the audience, ranging from 7 to 9 years old.

Gerard comments ‘The visit went really well and I managed to keep the children interested when explaining about electricity and how Energetics were involved in getting it from the sub-stations to their homes.  It was a tough audience but they were really engaging and there were numerous questions including ‘how does the cable get from the footpath to the house’? and “What is an electricity cable made of?‘

‘I really enjoyed presenting to the children, something a little different from my normal day to day’.