East Grinstead woman recognised for 40 years’ service

The company which keeps electricity flowing to 8.5 million homes and businesses across the South East, London and East of England invites employees who have given 40 years of continuous service to join a special 40-plus club.

Jill Brooks, 56, who lives in East Grinstead and works in Crawley, started work in the electricity industry aged 16 and gained experience in a variety of roles before joining procurement governance (the company’s buyers), 21 years ago.

Jill said: “I’m the gatekeeper for all the buying that takes place within the business, from stationery to electrical transformers for substations. I’m unofficially known as the ‘CGM Queen’ (contracts’ governance meeting). I love the work; it’s varied and challenging.

“Forty years is a long time! One of my key characteristics is that I’m very loyal and I like working here. I left school as soon as I could, to get out into the real world and I’ve been lucky to end up working somewhere I enjoy.

“I like the way the business treats people. I feel I’m not just a number; I’m a small but important part of the company’s success. I feel appreciated and I like the people. I’ve had so much support and feel part of something bigger than just the work I deal with.”

Times have changed since Jill joined the electricity industry on 20 August 1984 (the year of Band Aid and the miners’ strike), from her plug socket telephone switchboard to pre-computerisation piles of paperwork and the roles women occupied in the industry.

Jill said: “Everything was on paper. There was one Visual Display Unit between three, not even a computer. It makes me sound antique! When I first started, I provided lunch cover on an old-fashioned switchboard with wires connected manually, like you see in the old films.”

Jill worked in a variety of roles from the postroom, to coordinating meter reading appointments, meter moves, billing queries and key accounts, before finding her niche in procurement.

“There are far more women in engineering and field roles today. For so long it was very stereotypical, women were in the office roles, but because of the way society has changed women know if they put their mind to it, they can do whatever they want,” she added.

Jill said: “The 1987 hurricane sticks out in my mind because we’d never had anything like that before. I remember the camaraderie from other network operators across the UK. The attitude was, we’re in it together.”

Jill is among 37 staff to join the company’s ‘40+ Club’ this year, which currently has more than 300 members celebrating between 40 and 61 years of service.

Basil Scarsella, chief executive of UK Power Networks, said: “As an organisation that strives to be an employer of choice, we are delighted that many of our employees stay with us for their whole career. More than 300 employees have completed 40 or more years of continuous service, and it is a pleasure to annually recognise their contribution to the electricity industry.”