Siemens and Centrica are working together to develop a new exchange programme, giving graduates chance to improve their knowledge and skills while working for either company.
One of the first local graduates benefiting from the scheme is turbine engineer Anna Southhall (28), who just started a secondment with Siemens Lincoln.
The scheme means she’s been able to see the work that goes into designing and developing gas turbines for use in the oil and gas industry, and industrial power generation.
Southhall will be with the Siemens team for three months before returning to Centrica, where she normally works.
She said: “Having spent the last few years working at Centrica’s South Humber Bank power station near Grimsby it’s so rewarding to know I’m playing my part in helping to keep people’s lights on.
“My interest in power stations started back in school when I took part in an engineering education scheme at the former Drakelow Power Station, designed to get kids interested in engineering.
“I guess it must have done the trick – 10 years later and I’ve made it through Centrica’s graduate engineering programme, secured a permanent role in the business, and now with this exchange at Siemens, I’m just a few months away from applying to register as a professional engineer through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.”
The two engineering companies aim to establish regular graduate exchanges to grow their young talent base.
John Weir, Technical Training Manager at Centrica, said: “When it comes to high calibre graduates like Anna, we’re quite literally talking about Centrica’s engineers of the future so it’s essential that we give them the opportunities to grow as professionals.
“I’m sure this will be a hugely valuable experience for her and other engineers as we look to develop the programme further.”
Human Resources Director at Siemens Lincoln Paul Birt said: “We are delighted to be pioneering this graduate exchange programme with Centrica.
“We believe that this will hugely enrich the experience of our graduates enabling them to expand their knowledge of engineering, as well as experiencing other business cultures and working with different teams. We see this as a good model for future talent management.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite