Water Industry Process Automation & Control

 

WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition

The Instrumentation Apprentice Competition first came to WWEM in 2014 and was organised by the WIPAC group and sponsored by a number of the leading instrumentation companies within the UK Water Industry.

 

The competition saw four teams compete across the first day of the WWEM Competition in three rounds testing their knowledge of instrumentation as well as their practical skills. Specialists from both instrumentation companies as well as consulting companies helped to put the competition together as well as acting as the judges.

 

2018 will see the competition return with the new development that it is not just restricted to the Water & Sewerage Companies but also other companies within the industry who support the development of instrumentation apprentices across the Water Industry.

 

All of the apprentices who take part are hosted at the gala dinner, which takes place on the first evening of the WWEM Conference and the winning team are developed further after the competition by under going training with the sponsoring companies. to help them start their career in instrumentation in the Water Industry.

The competition sees the Apprentices compete against each other in a series of tasks.

 

In task one, at the beginning of the day they are given a series of scenarios which they can only solve by wandering the exhibition and asking questions of the experts on the exhibition stands which helps them to engage with the industry that they are about to enter at the end of their apprenticeships.

 

In the second task they will have a practical workout with some of the sponsoring organisations who will set them practical exercises to do and work with the apprentices to do diagnose problems with an instrument or maintain them.

 

The third and final task is a quick-fire quiz where the things that they have learnt throughout the day and their overall knowledge is tested.

 

At this point their work is done and the sponsoring organisations retire to discuss the apprentices and decide on a winner. The evening comes and everyone dresses up for the WWEM Gala Dinner where all of the competing apprentices are invited on stage and the winning team of apprentices are announced in front of the gathered audience.

 

The winners of the WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition over the years have been:

 

2014     Anglian Water        -

 

2016     Anglian Water        -     Fred Riseborough & Dale Reece

 

2018     Yorkshire Water     -     Natalie Oliver & Dan Calvert

 

 

The WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition will next take place 0n 11th November 2020, on the first day of the next Water, Wastewater & Environmental Conference & Exhibition at the International Centre in Telford and is open to all registered apprentices in the Water Industry.

 

To register interest in taking part in the WWEM Instrumentation Competition then please contact the Executive Director of Water Industry Process Automation & Control, Oliver Grievson, at oliver.grievson@wipac.org.uk who will contact you when entries for the 2020 WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition open