Energy company sets up scheme to recruit veterans

Darren Harrison, a former Communications Logistic Specialist in the Royal Signals, recently joined SSE as a Smart Meter Installer after nine and a half years in the armed forces

The firm, which covers the Portsmouth area, is encouraging leavers to join SSE’s growing team of smart meter installers and play a part in delivering the infrastructure upgrades.

The smart meter roll-out is a multibillion-pound project which will create thousands of new jobs across the country as energy suppliers like SSE aim to install a new smart meter in every home and business in Britain by the end of 2020.

Neil Dickinson, head of smart people at SSE, said: ‘The roll-out of smart meters is one of the biggest projects SSE has tackled in years.

‘We want to have the best people possible involved, which is why we’re reaching out to armed forces leavers to be the face of the programme. Our experience already shows that their skills and experiences can be extremely valuable.

‘Members of the armed forces have sacrificed more than most people can imagine keeping us all safe.

‘So we’re very happy to be able to add to the options available to them when returning to civilian life by offering jobs and training up and down the country as well as a competitive salary and all the support they may need.’

The new recruits will play a vital role, not only installing new meters in customers’ homes, but also helping SSE to engage and educate customers about their energy use – ultimately helping them to use less and save money.

SSE has already helped a number of armed forces leavers start a new career and is looking for new recruits to help it ramp up its efforts to install more than 7 million smart meters across the country.

Darren Harrison, a former communications logistic specialist in the Royal Signals, recently joined SSE as a smart meter installer after nine-and-a-half years in the armed forces.

The 27-year-old said: ‘It was daunting and is a different mentality from the army, but I found it fairly easy to adapt as SSE was so welcoming and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed than the army.’

Smart meters provide real-time information about usage, allow suppliers to read meters remotely, end estimated billing and open up possibilities for connected homes.

Go to sse.com for more information.