AWARDS | EMPLOYERS OF THE YEAR who are resilient, have good interpersonal skills, and can fit into a team. We like diversity in a team; we dont want clones, because people look at things in different ways, adds Jones. He says chemistry graduates tend to have focused, more rigorous training. The level of detail they go into with the fundamentals is a step up from what were seeing in traditional routes, says Jones. In the past, a lot of young graduate engineers would have gone into the traditional oil and gas industries, Jones adds, but this area isnt as appealing as it once was. Lucy Sherburn, consulting engineer at FairHeat and winner of last years CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate Engineer of the Year is a case in point. For me, and for younger people still at school and university, there is a desire to work in industries that deal with the impact of climate change, she says. As a chemical engineering student, I was told that oil, gas, water, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear are the classic industries to go into, but not once did anyone suggest building services as a profession. I didnt even know that degrees in building services existed. Oil and gas will be around for a while, adds Jones, but if you are starting your career now, it has a use-by date. Young graduate engineers want to feel good about the work they do, and they see heat networks as a high-growth area. Jones argues that different types of people need to be brought into the industry to make it grow. Traditional routes, going to the same pool, is not the way to do that, so were trying to identify people who have the right skills and funnel them back into building services. Sherburn adds: There are huge opportunities in helping to decarbonise buildings. At FairHeat, I work on new builds and get involved at the very early stages of the heat network, working through the design, build, installation, and commissioning. There are so many opportunities to get involved, whether its improving an existing building, retrofitting, or designing a new building, its such a dynamic industry. Jones suggests one of the reasons fewer students are studying building services is because of its image. To get top-calibre engineers, we need to promote what were doing as being at the forefront of decarbonisation, he says. The industry should be doing more to make the sector sexy, and help widen our minds about who we bring into the industry. Sherburn agrees: Young people often dont know what building services is and, if they do, they think its all about radiators and air conditioning. They think its not a technology for the future, but building services will play a huge part in decarbonisation. The industry needs to shout louder and market itself correctly so young people can see that they can play a major part in this renewable, sustainable revolution and design really cool, low-energy buildings. CJ CIBSE EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR 2021 AWARD Current FairHeat graduates (from l-r) Nikzad Falahati, Simran Chaggar and Jake Adamson FairHeat is on a hot streak. The specialist energy consultancy has been presented with the CIBSE Employer of the Year small business category award for a second time. Key to its success and winning the award is its two-year graduate scheme, which brings young engineers mainly chemical engineers into the industry and upskills them. FairHeat created the graduate scheme in response to the lack of skilled engineers in the industry and to develop engineering talent for the future. Tom Naughton, associate at FairHeat, who co-runs the scheme, says that around 70% of the companys employees are currently doing the graduate programme or have completed it within the past five years. Of the first three engineers who joined the scheme, all are now senior team members, are Prince2 [Projects in Controlled Environments] certified, and have achieved chartership with CIBSE. The scheme has been developed in a structured way that enables graduates to gain solid knowledge and experience in all aspects of heat network development, says Naughton. This includes six-month rotations across each of FairHeats four business areas, covering all aspects of building and operating heat networks, from design and delivery to performance improvement and monitoring. Over the years, we have put a lot of effort into building up a talented group of engineers through our graduate scheme, and they now form the core of the business. During each six-month rotation, the graduate engineers are assigned a research project, for which they manage their own time and budget, and present back to the team. The research is published, raising the profile of each young engineer. To help provide a nurturing structure for each young engineer, FairHeat has established a mentoring scheme through which consulting engineers are assigned to a graduate. The mentors help the graduates to self-reflect and discuss objectives for their development. External mentoring programmes are also encouraged, to ensure knowledge transfer is applied within the industry. During 2021, nine of FairHeats young engineers reached out to their universities and presented the graduate scheme, highlighting building services as a career. This was a successful initiative, not only to drive fresh talent to FairHeat, but also to expand awareness of the industry. We are particularly proud of the opportunities we are giving engineering graduates, says Naughton. The number of high-calibre engineers that the graduate scheme has supported is a testament to its success, and it will continue to be an integral part of our companys DNA. 18 July 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE July 22 pp16-18 FairHeat chemical engineers.indd 18 24/06/2022 15:11