Rebekah Amos - Blog Number 2

It’s been a month since my last blog and I’m pleased to be able to share with you the good news that I passed my college exam and if all goes to plan hope to finish my NVQ by the end of the month!

I’ve learnt a lot over the last month, for example:

· I’ve been given my own project - working on a lettings project under Lucy, the PCL Training Manager. I started working on this project from scratch, its involved lots of research and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product in training workshops. It’s given me a lot of responsibility as the work is all independent aside from guidance from Lucy when I need it.

· My confidence on the telephone has improved massively...keeping a professional manner at all times. My organisational skills have also improved which is making it easier for me to manage my workload effectively

· This week I’ve been helping with the monthly company invoicing as I have an interest in finance (I think I’ve grasped it quite quickly)!

I’m really pleased I’ve showed an interest in taking other activities on otherwise the opportunities may not have been given to me – guess that’s what taking an Apprenticeship is all about!

In my next blog I’ll update you on the progress of the lettings project and what I’ve learned in the training department - also what extra skills I hope to have learned ...looks like a busy next month!

Working as an apprentice by Rebekah Amos

My name’s Bex, I’ve been working as an apprentice at PCL - working towards an NVQ in Business/Admin for 3 months now and so far I’m really enjoying it!  I thought now would be a good time, as I’ve settled in, to share some of the things I’ve learnt and I plan to keep you updated monthly.

In a typical week, I spend 3 days working on the Energy Services Scheme project, 1 day helping our Energy Training department, and 1 day at college working on my coursework.  In my first blog, I’d like to share what I’ve learnt about the Energy Services Scheme.

The Energy Services Scheme is a void management scheme available to Councils and Registered Social Landlords. Here are a few points about the services we provide:

·         Transfer void properties to a nominated energy supplier

·         We provide prepayment meter devices to clear debt

·         Manage bills during the void period

·         Provide energy advice to tenants along with advice packs when they move in  

I’ve been involved in all of these areas, and have learnt so much including about different types of meters and how the gas and electricity industry operates...And there’s still so much more to learn!
Being an apprentice gives me much more responsibility than studying at college full time and also gives me the opportunity to gain experience in the workplace. In my next blog, I plan to share all the new skills I’ve learnt and hope to report on the results of my recent exams...

Awarded Green!

We take being  green very seriously and it’s something we practice each day in the office. To help spur us along  we’re part of Peterborough’s very own Green Accreditation, Investors in the Environment  (IiE)

This is our second year with IiE and were proud to announce that we have been awarded Green for the second year running!

Mark Randall, our Managing Director, was at the awards event to collect the certificate and shared some of our successes with the other 115 members –

·         We’ve saved 75,000 tonnes of carbon over 1 of our business projects, with a target to 150,00 for the financial year 2012/13

·         We’ve increased our business activities by a third over  2011/12 but kept our carbon footprint at the same levels as 2010/11  

·         We’ve reduced the amount of stationery we’ve ordered while increasing the usage of Eco Products

·         We successfully took part in Zero Waste Week for the second year running – achieving  zero waste

 Mark Randall (Right) collecting award with Marco Cereste of Peterborough City Council

We’re currently planning on how we can make this year even more of a success and would love to hear what your up to when it comes to looking after the environment!

Smart Meters

If all goes to plan within the Energy Industry then this will be the year that smart meters start to go live, it’s a huge job to undertake and one that will take years to be completed but as each properties meters are converted then the world of meters will become a much simpler one.

There will still be separate meters for gas and electricity but the best advantage for Resident Social Landlords (RSLs) and Councils is expected to be that smart meters will be able to be switched from credit to prepayment...remotely!  This could potentially mean that prepayment meters can be switched to credit for the void period, taking out the time of topping up keys for void works.

Smart meters are operated by technology similar to SIM cards which will transmit data (meter readings) back to the supplier ensuring all bills for credit meters are based on actual reads.

For Prepayment meters the most innovative change will be the ability for the supplier to add or remove credit from meters, saving valuable time topping up keys/cards and meter wipe downs appointments.

If all the hype is true then we can look forward to accurate bills, less meter related issues during the void period and happier tenants.

We’ll keep you posted!

Meter Issues

Just a quick update - There have recently been changes to the way we make meter appointments. Before we can install any new meter we need to know if the meter is inside or outside and wall or ground mounted. Please have this information ready when you call the team.