From Enactus student to Centrica Graduate
Hi, I’m Kirsty, an incoming HR Graduate for September 2014. I discovered Centrica as a career option through their involvement with Enactus, an international community of students, academics and business leaders all committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. Centrica is one of these business leaders and the opportunity to meet Centrica representatives on various training and networking events sparked my interest in the company as everyone I met was extremely passionate about what they do.
I have been involved in Enactus Sheffield at my university for 3 years and currently act as HR Director. It’s given me the responsibility of recruiting, training and developing over 169 members who work on truly life-changing projects, from creating innovative recycled crisp packet relief blankets to combat hypothermia in the sub-zero temperatures of La Paz, Bolivia to offering empowering employment opportunities to both the homeless and survivors of human trafficking, domestic and sexual abuse in our local community. It’s an experience I never thought I could have when I began University and one I am grateful for as it has allowed me to find my passion for social enterprise as well as discover the true value of people.
Every year, along with a National Champion being crowned, certain companies give out awards. Centrica crown a ‘Team Sustainability Award’ and this year Enactus Sheffield was shortlisted. This allowed me to gain an insight into priorities in place at Centrica and relate them to our operations. The award required me and the Managing Director to set goals on many different aspects relating to sustainability varying from recruitment to retention, allowing us to consider factors we had not thought of before and helping us to increase our company’s overall sustainability. At the event I was also able to reconnect with Centrica at the careers fair and even spotted some as judges for various rounds!
The final round of competition saw the finalists delivering a 17 minute presentation on the incredible impacts we'd achieved. It was inspiring to see what impact other students from all around the UK have achieved. This year, myself and Glenn (our Commercial Director who is also an incoming Customer Insight Graduate for 2014) are proud to say that Enactus Sheffield was crowned UK champions and awarded the honour of representing the UK programme at the Enactus World Cup 2014 in Beijing in October! For me this is the icing on the cake at the end of my University experience and I’m so happy to see our projects and members receiving such a prestigious recognition. For myself and Glenn we are excited to start our positions at Centrica and what we have gained through our Enactus experience will stay with us for the rest of our lives.