Apprentice, Smart Energy Expert

Faces of the Future: Inspired by possibility

On International Women in Engineering Day, Racheal Olorode talks about her passion for a career in engineering – and why she recommends it to anyone.

I got into my apprenticeship role after stumbling upon an advertisement. It was encouraging women to apply, and this appealed to me almost as if it was an invitation. I loved the fact that I would be provided with all the training I would need to hit the ground running. I was determined to get this role and did everything I could to be prepared for my interview and the rest is history.

A normal day out in the field consists of meeting my mentor at our first job. It’s important to me to get to our customers on time so we work to our morning schedule and then move on to our afternoon jobs. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned from ‘on the job’ training and my mentor has been supportive of my learning journey.

Before joining British Gas, I worked in retail. I gained a lot of experience on how to interact with customers and deliver excellent customer service. These skills have been invaluable for interacting with British Gas customers and dealing with their questions and queries. It's so relevant to my job and what I love most - meeting customers. Given the impact on the world over the past year, it's a blessing for some of our customers to meet others and have a chat, and I am really enjoying being out and about. A light-hearted conversation can help our customers feel at ease and it makes my job more enjoyable.

I’d say the biggest challenge in this role is self-assurance. I always want to be sure of myself and the work I'm doing and that can sometimes be overwhelming, but it also drives me. My advice would be trust your learning and the knowledge you’ve been given by your trainers but more importantly trust yourself. Sometimes engineers overthink and over anticipate, which can at times be helpful but trusting yourself eases your doubts or anxiety, whatever the situation.

What inspires me the most at British Gas is the prospect to progress within the company and the never-ending opportunities that become available. I’m inspired by possibility. It gives me the motivation to go out every day and do my best for the company and myself. I’m looking forward to becoming the best I can be in my new role and the opportunities for progression that may follow, such as cross-skilling in new areas like heat pump and electric vehicle charging point training.

The best advice I could give someone looking to join or are new to the sector is to trust the learning process. Don’t feel at a disadvantage because you may not have previous skills or knowledge relating to the role. Allow yourself to learn new things, allow yourself to be vulnerable to the process and you’ll succeed.