Kian Sankey

Scheme: Process Engineering Graduate

Hi, my name is Kian, and I am working at Centrica Energy Storage + as a graduate process engineer. I live in a small village outside of Glasgow for most of my life and attended the University of Strathclyde completing a master’s degree in chemical engineering.

I enjoy playing football, golf and watching most types of sports but mainly supporting my favourite football team, Aston Villa.

Why Centrica?

I applied to Centrica as the values and goals that the company has, aligned with my personal attributes. I’m really interested in the energy sector and contributing to making a difference for the future. It is such a challenging time for the industry, and I feel passionate about the choices the company is making. In university, I took a particular interest in Hydrogen modules, and I know this is being driven by Centrica in the energy market. I also knew that the company had a reputable graduate scheme that would provide me with the tools to develop in my career.

Why should someone apply?

The Centrica Graduate Scheme is currently ranked 5th in the Rate My Placement Student Awards. This position reflects on the scheme as you really do get the freedom to develop and work on projects with a real interest that you will enjoy. I have gained lots of experience already in my first year and developed in a lot of key areas much quicker than expected because the scheme encourages you to go out your comfort zone and work on your development areas. The scheme offers a lot of training and qualifications that you can keep with you which will only help you progress your career in the future and be proof of the hard work you put in!

Is there anything to get involved in outside of work?

I moved to Hessle in Hull for my first placement, and I didn’t really know the area or people as I have lived in Glasgow my full life, but I was welcomed into a host of activities to keep me busy after work. Each week I attended a 7-a-side football game with the technical engineering team at CES+ and I also took part in a golf league, which I’m not very good at but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I got to meet new people whilst developing work relationships too!

How did the programme help you to develop your skills?

The programme helped me develop a lot of technical skills through modelling, calculations, forecasting & project work but I also gained a lot of soft skills through my time on the summer placement. This is largely because of the cohort group that comes together to complete end of placement presentations in front of a large group, networking and being organised with all the various tasks going on. I appreciated the development I made throughout the summer placement, especially when I returned to complete my final year at university after already securing my Graduate scheme position as part of the summer program.