Andrew Marshall, the SBGI President, Russell Brown MD Utilise and Richard Haddon, President IGEM

Utilise staff are delighted at the recognition of their efforts through three top business awards. 

First came the GAS INDUSTRY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AWARD. This was one of the top awards at the recent Gas Industry Awards Lunch at the London Hilton Hotel. The awards are presented by IGEM (the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers), which is the leading professional Body in the UK for the Gas Industry, and the SBGI – the only Trade Association representing all sectors of the onshore gas industry. The luncheon was attended by some 500 leaders of the gas and utility industries and was also addressed by Energy Minister Lord Truscott.

The award was for the training and development the company has been doing in China and was awarded for the Utilise Beijing Office. The citation was: "For building alliances in Mainland China, allowing UK gas industry practices and standards to be used extensively”

Roger Hadley training at Wolverhampton

Secondly at the same event, the ENERGY & UTILITY SKILLS BUSINESS SKILLS AWARD was presented to Morgan Est with National Grid, West Midlands Gas Alliance. Utilise are delighted to be the training provider for the alliance and Utilise’s highly respected Roger Hadley has trained some 700 members of the work force since the Alliance was formulated. The citation was: “For addressing the skills gap in the gas construction industry, by introducing a programme to develop the next generation of engineers and managers.” The alliance has amongst many initiatives, built its own dedicated training centre.

IGEM President Steve featherstone presenting the HE Jones medal to Steve Anderton

Finally and by no means least, came this years IGEM, HE JONES MEDAL presented to Utilise’s Steve Anderton for his paper, “Compliance, More Skills, Success, A Training Providers Review” presented to the Manchester & District Section on 26th October 2006.

Steve joined the Gas Industry as an apprentice in 1973. Following his ONC and HNC at North Trafford College he was appointed Assistant Engineer in the Distribution Department of the South Lancashire Area.

During this period he presented a paper as part of the Fred Johnston short paper competition to the Manchester District Junior Gas Association entitled “the effect of Mining Subsidence on a Distribution System” and later became President of the Association in 1989.

Steve’s served across the then North West Region as a Sub District Engineer and more recently as a Construction Operations Engineer during the conception of the North West Gas Alliance. He also completed a postgraduate diploma in Utility Management at Manchester Business School in 2001.

Steve always had a responsibility for training within the Distribution department. In July 2005 Steve left National Grid after a mere 32 years, and joined Utilise Training and Development Solutions Ltd as their UK Operations Manager.

His presentation “Compliance, More Skills, Success a Training Providers View” was a synopsis of the current Gas Network Operative re-qualification programme in the UK, the need for management training in the UK and his international experiences following a period spent in China during 2006.

Said Utilise Director Mike Gregory. “Everyone at Utilise has been focused on delivering a quality service. We are pleased with this recognition and it encourages us in our efforts to remain the UK’s number one utility training provider.”

Utilise can be contacted at 01257 255700 or visit the web site www.utilise-tds.co.uk