Worcester electrical specialists Rock Power Connections is a national success story with a ‘Mitie' presence. With yet more growth on the horizon, they want to build on their greatest asset - their people.

Co-founder and Director Kev Sankar admits that his company's first decade in business has been a whirlwind.

"I thought we'd grow and have a great time, but never imagined we'd reach the level we're at now."

In fact, you could say that Rock Power Connections - which designs and builds high voltage electrical power infrastructure across the UK - has the best of both worlds.

"Rock is small, local and agile, but we also have a base at The Shard,"

"We draw on the benefits of large corporate backing, but we're still family focused, and our values and behaviours haven't changed since the early days."

Since its acquisition by the Mitie Group 18 months ago, Rock Power Connections has completed some of its biggest projects to date.

These include the installation of EV charging stations at some of the UK's busiest hubs and partnerships with high profile clients such as hi-speed rail network HS2 and Electric Highway Gridserve.

Rock has much to celebrate, with full order books, however, as with other successful companies, it faces an immediate challenge - the high-quality skills shortage.

Kev adds,

"It's a huge challenge for Worcestershire, and we're no exception. The green economy in particular offers us massive opportunities, but we are struggling to find the right people.

"Having the right people and culture has always been key to our success. Rock would not be where it is today without them. In fact, our employee value proposition is fantastic in terms of benefits, packages, learning and development.

"Our focus continues to be on quality skills and training, and we believe that the Mitie brand - combined with our family friendly ethos - gives us that competitive edge."

Rock has a range of roles on offer from sales and finance to civils teams and project management, but the main emphasis is on craft skills. Kev adds,

"We're looking for industrial and commercial electricians who we can train to become high voltage engineers.

"The problem is that they can't get the qualification without practical experience. It's a catch 22 situation which has been going on in the UK for years, and it's something we're currently working through with our own apprentices. It's not the local college's fault, it's the way that apprenticeships are written up.

"Although Rock is well known locally, we hope that the kudos of Mitie ownership will help attract candidates who might otherwise not know about the career opportunities we have to offer."

He continues,

"Mitie employs over 70,000 people and with our career matrix, we work with our people to build and develop their career pathway and ensure they have the right training. Rock has always invested heavily in training but being part of the Mitie brand is on a whole new scale."

Putting the current skills conundrum to one side, Rock is powering ahead on a path of exponential growth.

Its business has two main strands: making sure that critical electricity infrastructure is in place to keep our towns and cities running; and supporting the UK's decarbonisation mission.

Kev adds,

"There's going to be a lot more Electric vehicle (EV) super hubs and ultra-rapid charging stations appearing at sports centres, train stations, airports etc, as well as service stations and garage forecourts.

"You can already see our hubs at Welcome Break and Roadchef service stations, and we're just about to start on a big project at Worcester Garden Centre. We are also putting substations at new outlets for major retailers like Amazon, Lidl, and Aldi."

He concludes,

"We're certainly not stagnating, but we want to get the skills in now to futureproof our operations, and make sure the right support is in place to succeed in the industry.

"There's a lot to look forward to and achieve, so Rock Power Connections will always welcome high-quality job applications."

For more information about career opportunities, email emma@rockpowerconnections.co.uk or call, 01905 456 384