Buckinghamshire apprentice starts training to power future energy
UK Power Networks is investing £6 million in craft electricity apprenticeships this year, including a fresh recruit from Buckinghamshire set to play a key part in shaping Britain’s energy future.
Jake Lavelle from Aylesbury is among 55 new recruits stepping into a critical electricity trade which maintains reliable power supplies to 20 million people and supports Britain’s transition to low-carbon power.
He is part of the firm’s new workforce needed to fill essential energy roles that keep power flowing and connect the low carbon future to the grid by enabling more solar energy, Electric Vehicles and heat pumps. The positions received 2,052 applications.
Jake, 18, is training as a cable jointer in Borehamwood. When he was told about apprenticeships by a family friend who worked at UK Power Networks, he knew that was what he wanted. He said: “I looked around and didn’t apply for anything else, nothing got my interest like this did.” He had just finished his second year studying applied law at college but knew he didn’t want to go to university. At the time the gym goer was filling in at his uncle’s company weighing lorries and ticketing them at a waste disposal facility. As for the electric future, Jake says “I know everyone is going to miss petrol and diesel but it’s killing the planet.” He will follow the Power Networks Craftsperson (Level 3) Apprenticeship programme.
‘Foundation apprentices’ who are typically school or college leavers, complete Outward Bound Trust training and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award programme, as part of their three-year technical training programme. Experienced apprentices, who are often career changers, also complete Outward Bound training and follow condensed two-year training.
Charlie Aston, engineering trainee manager at UK Power Networks, said: “Our apprenticeships nurture local talent and prepare the technical energy experts of tomorrow to power our regions’ future. We are building a strong, skilled workforce drawn from the very communities we serve, enabling recruits to play a vital role in maintaining, connecting and upgrading the electricity network for homes and businesses and helping power Britain’s low-carbon future.”
The apprenticeship programme has won several awards, including regional and national recognition from the Department for Education’s apprenticeship awards, gold at the Learning Excellence Awards, and top honours from Energy and Utility Skills Awards. Applications for apprenticeships starting in September 2026 are open now, see www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/careers