From Nottingham to Milan: How Cerys's degree apprenticeship at E.ON opened up a world of opportunities for her
A degree apprenticeship at E.ON "is the best thing I've ever done and has genuinely changed my life," a high-flyer who is now a Cities Programme Manager at the sustainability-focused energy company has said.
Cerys Goodson's family would have struggled to support her with the costs of university, despite Goodson doing a part-time job since she was 16. At the urging of her mum, Goodson applied for and secured a prestigious Future Leaders Degree Apprenticeship at E.ON in 2019, based at the company's Nottingham office.
Over the course of the three-and-a-half year programme she worked in a wide range of teams including helping customers manage their debt, smart metering, finance and digital and on Project Perseus, the merger of Npower and E.ON, developing a keen interest in renewables and Net Zero in the process. Last year, she took up a role at E.ON Energia in Milan to project manage the delivery of renewable projects in Italy with her knowledge of the UK industry.
"I’ve always been really passionate about the environment so working for an organisation which supports my personal values is extremely rewarding," says Goodson, who grew up in Leicester.
"Green jobs and green skills are going to be a huge driving force in what our future will look like. We are the generation which are required to live in our future world.
Goodson was drawn to the degree apprenticeship by the flexibility it offers. "I don’t believe education and work experience has a ‘one size fits all’ approach, so having the ability to drive my objectives and what I wanted to achieve was really beneficial to my development," she says.
Among key things she feels she has learned are "the importance of networking, stakeholder management and communication, alongside career development techniques like goal and objective setting, interview training etc, and valuable business knowledge across a number of departments. I’ve been lucky enough to have access to endless amounts of knowledge and experiences".
She especially values the emphasis E.ON puts on its people. "There is a real development environment, and everyone is always happy to help you learn. I’ve hugely benefited from a number of mentors and coaches throughout my career so far".
"The constant changing environment and focus can be challenging, but also what keeps things exciting and fresh". Goodson was the winner of E.ON's Apprentice Ace award in 2023.
Since finishing the degree apprenticeship, delivered by the University of Derby, Goodson has completed a PRINCE2 project management professional qualification which E.ON supported as part of its commitment to continuing her professional development and education. In her current role she is helping set up a new team and is supporting the team to assess how E.ON can deliver its objectives to decarbonise cities.
Goodson advises young people thinking about apprenticeships to "just do it! The opportunity to earn while you learn is great, as you can build on your knowledge and experiences coming out of school while gaining the relevant qualifications to accelerate your career.
"I’d never have thought I would have been able to achieve what I have before taking on the apprenticeship".
Over the past seven years, more than 1000 new and existing E.ON employees have enrolled on intermediate, higher and degree level apprenticeship programmes. The company is ranked top apprenticeship employer in the UK in the energy and utilities sector, according to reviews and feedback submitted by its own apprentices to the Rate My Apprenticeship website.
At last October's Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Apprenticeship Awards, E.ON won Large Employer of the Year and E.ON project manager Steve Bullimore was named Mentor of the Year, while the company won Large Apprenticeship Employer of the Year at the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards East Midlands regional finals.
The deadline to apply for E.ON’s degree apprenticeship programme is 16 February 2025. For E.ON’s intermediate engineering apprenticeship programme the deadlines are 28 February (Lighting and Grid Apprenticeship) and 9 March (Maintenance Engineering Apprenticeship). For more information visit www.eon-uk-careers.com/earlycareers