This month, Fuel Oil News speaks with Erin Newberry, HR and Learning and Development Apprentice at EET Fuels, to discover how Erin spends a typical day.
EET Fuels is passionate about supporting the next generation of talent with their apprenticeship programme as Louise Dean, Head of Learning/Development and Talent Management, explains: “At Essar Energy Transition, our apprenticeship programme is a cornerstone of our commitment to nurturing the next generation of industry leaders.
“Our apprentices, ranging from Level 3 to Level 7, embark on a journey that offers a blend of hands-on experience and academic learning, tailored to their career aspirations. Whether they are pursuing paths in engineering, IT, commercial, or business administration, our apprentices receive unparalleled support and mentorship from industry experts.
“This immersive approach not only equips them with the technical skills needed for their roles but also instils a deep understanding of the energy sector’s evolving landscape. As we continue to invest in the UK’s energy transition, our apprentices play a pivotal role in driving innovation and sustainability at EET. We are incredibly proud of Erin – one of our current apprentices in the HR and L&D team.”
MY ALARM GOES OFF AT…
6.10am and then 6.20am and finally 6.30am! I like to wake up slowly, but I definitely have to get up at 6.30am!
THE FIRST THING I DO IS…
Get out of bed, put my slippers on and then go and have a shower to wake myself up for the day.
I PREPARE FOR THE DAY AHEAD BY…
Setting my clothes out the day before and making sure I have everything packed in my work bag.
Listening to music as I’m getting ready in the morning helps put me in a good mood to start my day.
I also make sure I go to bed relatively early the night before, so I can make sure I get a great night’s sleep and will feel energised and rejuvenated for the workday ahead.
I CAN’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT…
My phone – as we use phones for everything from Google maps, to listening to music, to contacting friends and family.
MY TYPICAL DAY…
I don’t really have a typical day, as no two days are the same. Every day is different which I enjoy. A day in the office could look like this…
I arrive at the office ready to start work at 8.00am. Firstly, I check and respond to any emails I may have received. I will then pick up and escort any external training vendors that we have visiting for one of our many different training courses such as FLT training, MEWP training, pre-retirement training, to functional skills training.
Then, I will spend about 30 minutes to an hour going through the training mailbox responding to training request emails for internal and external training. I will also email any external vendor I need to regarding different training sessions that we need to book in and organise.
I then spend some time clearing out our learning and development storage room which is where we keep all our site PPE, merchandise and careers event equipment.
Part of my role is to work on the internal and external training tracker that we have, updating it with all the training requests and booking information. The tracker holds all the training data such as the number of attendees, their names, details of the trainer, and further information about the course. The tracker is the training bible!
I enjoy interacting with external trainers and building up a rapport with them. It’s great to gain a better understanding of the training offered and how it helps support the business.
The Learning and Development team have weekly meetings, so the team is up to date with everything going on. I also have my weekly 1-2-1 meetings with my line manager where we run over my capacity/workload, my monthly responsibilities and we see if there is space in my workload for more tasks to be added to my responsibilities.
My workday ends at 4:00pm.
MY MOST MEMORABLE WORK MOMENTS…
Successfully passing my English Functional Skills Qualification, as this was something that I had worked incredibly hard to achieve. Finding out that I had passed was such an amazing feeling, as this was something I really struggled with.
I’m also incredibly proud of becoming an EET Fuels apprentice. Being able to say at 16, through my own determination, I was able to successfully gain a place on an exceptionally good apprenticeship programme in a hugely successful business was a huge, huge achievement that I am very proud of.
THE WORST PART OF MY JOB…
I don’t think I have a ‘worst part of my job’ as I enjoy it all. If I had to say one thing that I like the least, then it would be the monthly LMS systems clean up that I do at the end of each month.
The reason I like this task slightly less is because it is a very long manual task where the margins for error are larger than if this task was done automatically.
THE BEST PART OF MY JOB…
Is the people I work with on a daily basis. I have a close working relationship with them, and my department team all support, push and motivate each other whilst striving for the best for the business every day.
I also like getting out of the office occasionally to see different parts of the refinery. It’s great to be able to interact with different members of staff all over site, in all different divisions, so I can gain a better understanding of how all of us working together keeps the refinery moving.
I RELAX AFTER WORK BY…
Spending quality time with my family, boyfriend, friends and my dog. I also like going on walks, dancing and climbing. I compete in both dancing and climbing to a very high level.
I do also enjoy the slower paced evenings when I go to hot yoga and enjoy a nice dinner before settling in on the couch for the evening to watch a movie.
MY FAVOURITE MEAL IS…
I like my evening meal – dinner is definitely the best meal of the day!
ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE IS…
A bottle of water to stay hydrated, my everyday jewellery that I take off before going to bed and Google to listen to music.
THE LAST THING I DO EACH DAY IS…
Scroll through TikTok and make sure all my necessary alarms are set for the next day.
I’M NORMALLY IN BED BY…
9.30pm usually but it depends on the day and what I’ve had going on.
Image credit: Erin Newberry, EET Fuels
