Page 3 - Gi flipbook April 2018

Tweets from Welcome to the April edition
our readers
Women’s Eng. Society @WES1919
@IGEMGi has just joined
#INWED18 as official sponsors,
helping us with #RaisingTheBar
for women in engineering
around the globe. We are
delighted to have you on board!
ow.ly/qvit30iR9aL
Morrison Utility Services
@MorrisonUtility
Thanks to
@IGEMGi
in their
latest
edition for
the great
coverage
on @CarlaCBarnard one of
our #STEMAmbassadors
encouraging young women
to consider a career in
the gas industry ahead of
#InternationalWomensDay
MW Polymers @MW_Polymers
Absolutely
loving this
month’s edition
of @IGEMGi Gas
International
celebrating
women in
#engineering ahead of
#InternationalWomensDay
EUA @energyutilities
@Rachel
ReevesMP, chair of
@beisgovuk will
be the keynote
speaker at the
@energyutilities &
@IGEMGi
#GasAwards in May - if you’re
keen to hear her views on all
things #gas, book your place
now - goo.gl/VZ35dY
Russell Thomas @Gashistory
The gas
industry
had a strong
social side.
In-house
magazines
were full
of events, new developments
& occasional cartoons. Such
as this dating back 89 years
ago, highlighting the issues
of getting your gas and water
plumbing mixed up. @IGEMGi @
gasworksollie @GasRetort
EditorsLetter.indd 2 26/03/2018
EDITOR’S LETTER
IS IT JUST ME, or did that winter feel like a
thousand years?
This edition, we’re talking education and skills. And
not just training, but the kind of skills you can’t learn
in a classroom.
For example, despite all their other talents, leaders
with engineering degrees rank near the bottom when
it comes to communication skills. David Cartwright,
founder of leadership and business education provider
OBD Academy discusses the abilities a real leader
needs in order to be more than just a manager.
The engineering profession is at the heart of our industrial and infrastructure
ambitions. A new white paper from Energy & Utilities Skills and SSE examines
whether enough value is being placed on the people who make up this socially
important workforce, as more and more engineers enter retirement and
recruitment of talented individuals gets more challenging every year.
Twelve months down the line, reviews of the new apprenticeship levy are
less than positive. Chris Wood, CEO of Develop Training, has a few ideas on
how to fix this failing policy.
This will be my fifth spring working at IGEM and my 51st edition of Gi, which
makes me think of two things: Firstly, I am not ageing as well as my photo
would have you believe. Secondly, I have witnessed countless changes in the
gas industry over the last few years. Back in September 2014, I put Google
Glass on the cover. We all thought it was the future of site work. It seems
almost quaint now. In 2018, it’s all about robots. In this edition, Synthotech’s
Wez Little introduces TORS, a new robotic system that is eliminating the need
for excavations when operating on buried assets in UK streets.
The UK’s carbon capture and storage projects have had a bumpy history so
far, with many proponents and opponents. However, the Global CCS Institute
believes this technology still has a role to play in helping us to meet our
climate policy targets.
All this is accompanied by the usual round-up of news and events from
around the industry, including a fond farewell from our CEO Sarb Bajwa,
how to get hold of the latest version of the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations
Procedure, and London, Southern & Eastern Section’s annual Lions’ Lair event.
We hope you enjoy the April edition!
Sharon Baker-Hallam, Editor
BA (Hons) AIGEM
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM)
Tell us what you think
Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re always happy to hear any
comments you might have about Gi. If you have an opinion you want to share with
us, email editor@igem.org.uk or write to Editor Sharon Baker-Hallam at IGEM
House, 26 & 28 High Street, Kegworth, Derby DE74 2DA. The best letters and
emails we receive will be featured on this page.
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