How Jo found her perfect job
18 Nov 2024
Joanne Kelly has recently been promoted to Centre Manager at Gas Certification Company Ltd. and Energy Certification Hub in Blantyre, just south of Glasgow. Her previous role at the company was Trainer, Assessor and Assistant Manager.
Jo puts the promotion down largely to the support of her boss, Andrew McNab – and he puts it down to her dedication and hard work! Whatever the reason, the step up has been sooner than expected and Jo is thrilled to be in her new post supporting the initiatives the company has set up to encourage and welcome learners to the centre.
At school Jo had dreams of an active career, and didn’t want to end up being stuck behind a desk from nine to five:
“I’ve never really conformed to society’s norms on gender expectations. I loved sports at school and being out and about. When it came to choosing a career, I knew from a young age that an office job wasn’t going to suit me, so I opted for a sports coaching and development degree at Bell College in Hamilton.
“I loved it and two years later achieved my base qualification, ready to specialise in a particular sport and complete my training. But by that stage money was tight and I needed experience. My plans for Camp America were side-lined when I fell in love with Australia on a family holiday in 1997. For a few years I worked as a temp for Scottish Gas to save money so that I could return to Australia and went back in 2000 - the year of the Sydney Olympics.
“Working in a call-centre for Scottish Gas was how I began my gas career, dealing with admin and customers’ problems. It was a great way to find out how the industry works! After a couple of years Scottish Gas ran a programme to encourage female apprentices into the business. I applied and after getting through an aptitude test, medical and then a panel interview, I was in – an apprentice gas engineer. I worked for them until 2022, when I joined Gas Certification.
“The COVID years were hard for engineers. The lockdowns made work a challenge and Scottish Gas was making things difficult for its employees with a fire and re-hire policy which forced people to sign up to less attractive contracts. I decided to take a home-based role in Customer Relations. Morale was low and so there were lots of issues to sort out. One day I saw an ad for a ‘Trainer/Assessor’ at Gas Certification, and I leapt at it.
“Andy has been a great boss. He’s built a great team here, with seven women in various roles. He is keen for us all to develop and grow – along with his company. As soon as I started here, I began training as an Internal Verifier and then went on to do my A1 trainer and assessor qualifications. Now I’m in the middle of a leadership qualification, to support my management role.
“It’s not just the technical side of things, women naturally have many of the soft skills that engineers need to do their job effectively. Empathy can be very powerful, and I use it in my role here as a trainer and assessor, where we are encouraged to offer our candidates all the support they need. Recently we had a guy who’d been off the tools for a few years. He came back to do his ACS with us, and he was SO nervous. I could see he was struggling and because we were able to give him time to relax - so that he could think and not panic - he was able to get over his anxiety and through his assessment. He was so grateful, that he came back the following week with an armful of cakes and chocolates for us all!
“We’re a great team here. Supportive of each other as well as the candidates. If someone’s having a bad day, we’ll all step up to support them. I had a tough time towards the end at Scottish Gas, where I dreaded going to work. That’s absolutely not the case here. Three of us recently took part in a sky dive to raise money for MND Scotland (Motor Neurone Disease). It was absolutely terrifying, but taking part with my colleagues helped me overcome my fear and the fact that the event helped us raise 15K for MND was a great motivation!
Happy now at work, Jo has got back into the swing of things at home, with plans to get back into more of the adventure sports she loved when she was younger.
“We are dedicated to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to succeed when they train with us - whether they are new entrants or renewing their qualifications at Gas Certification Company, or training in renewables at our Energy Certification Hub. We work hard to ensure our centre is inclusive, somewhere where employees, customers and acquaintances feel safe, respected and valued - LCL Awards helps its centres promote these values through its Inclusivity Charter. We believe equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence and contribute to an inclusive and vibrant learning and working experience.
“Andy is keen to do all he can to promote women in building services. We went together to a careers fair at a local high school before they broke up for the summer and I think something as basic as seeing a woman behind an engineering stand at an event like that helps young girls see that a career in engineering is an option.
“During Gas Safety Week this year we closed the training centre to courses and ran a special week of workshops to inspire kids from four local high schools to think about working in engineering. At the end of the week, we held our own careers day, where we invited local employers to come and talk to them. It was a great success. The trick is to make engineering more approachable and inclusive for everyone.
“I feel very lucky to have found this job and this team I’m with now. Working as a woman in the trades isn’t easy. I’ve had to put up with a lot of negativity and prejudice over the years, but I feel things are changing and if I can do anything to help that happen, I’m chuffed.”
If you’re keen to find out more about Gas Certification Company Ltd. and the work they do for professional and would-be engineers in Scotland and the North of England, please click here. If you’d like to find out more about LCL Awards’ Inclusivity Charter, please click here.
Joanne Kelly has recently been promoted to Centre Manager at Gas Certification Company Ltd. and Energy Certification Hub in Blantyre, just south of Glasgow. Her previous role at the company was Trainer, Assessor and Assistant Manager.
Jo puts the promotion down largely to the support of her boss, Andrew McNab – and he puts it down to her dedication and hard work! Whatever the reason, the step up has been sooner than expected and Jo is thrilled to be in her new post supporting the initiatives the company has set up to encourage and welcome learners to the centre.
At school Jo had dreams of an active career, and didn’t want to end up being stuck behind a desk from nine to five:
“I’ve never really conformed to society’s norms on gender expectations. I loved sports at school and being out and about. When it came to choosing a career, I knew from a young age that an office job wasn’t going to suit me, so I opted for a sports coaching and development degree at Bell College in Hamilton.
“I loved it and two years later achieved my base qualification, ready to specialise in a particular sport and complete my training. But by that stage money was tight and I needed experience. My plans for Camp America were side-lined when I fell in love with Australia on a family holiday in 1997. For a few years I worked as a temp for Scottish Gas to save money so that I could return to Australia and went back in 2000 - the year of the Sydney Olympics.
“Working in a call-centre for Scottish Gas was how I began my gas career, dealing with admin and customers’ problems. It was a great way to find out how the industry works! After a couple of years Scottish Gas ran a programme to encourage female apprentices into the business. I applied and after getting through an aptitude test, medical and then a panel interview, I was in – an apprentice gas engineer. I worked for them until 2022, when I joined Gas Certification.
“The COVID years were hard for engineers. The lockdowns made work a challenge and Scottish Gas was making things difficult for its employees with a fire and re-hire policy which forced people to sign up to less attractive contracts. I decided to take a home-based role in Customer Relations. Morale was low and so there were lots of issues to sort out. One day I saw an ad for a ‘Trainer/Assessor’ at Gas Certification, and I leapt at it.
“Andy has been a great boss. He’s built a great team here, with seven women in various roles. He is keen for us all to develop and grow – along with his company. As soon as I started here, I began training as an Internal Verifier and then went on to do my A1 trainer and assessor qualifications. Now I’m in the middle of a leadership qualification, to support my management role.
“It’s not just the technical side of things, women naturally have many of the soft skills that engineers need to do their job effectively. Empathy can be very powerful, and I use it in my role here as a trainer and assessor, where we are encouraged to offer our candidates all the support they need. Recently we had a guy who’d been off the tools for a few years. He came back to do his ACS with us, and he was SO nervous. I could see he was struggling and because we were able to give him time to relax - so that he could think and not panic - he was able to get over his anxiety and through his assessment. He was so grateful, that he came back the following week with an armful of cakes and chocolates for us all!
“We’re a great team here. Supportive of each other as well as the candidates. If someone’s having a bad day, we’ll all step up to support them. I had a tough time towards the end at Scottish Gas, where I dreaded going to work. That’s absolutely not the case here. Three of us recently took part in a sky dive to raise money for MND Scotland (Motor Neurone Disease). It was absolutely terrifying, but taking part with my colleagues helped me overcome my fear and the fact that the event helped us raise 15K for MND was a great motivation!
Happy now at work, Jo has got back into the swing of things at home, with plans to get back into more of the adventure sports she loved when she was younger.
“We are dedicated to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to succeed when they train with us - whether they are new entrants or renewing their qualifications at Gas Certification Company, or training in renewables at our Energy Certification Hub. We work hard to ensure our centre is inclusive, somewhere where employees, customers and acquaintances feel safe, respected and valued - LCL Awards helps its centres promote these values through its Inclusivity Charter. We believe equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence and contribute to an inclusive and vibrant learning and working experience.
“Andy is keen to do all he can to promote women in building services. We went together to a careers fair at a local high school before they broke up for the summer and I think something as basic as seeing a woman behind an engineering stand at an event like that helps young girls see that a career in engineering is an option.
“During Gas Safety Week this year we closed the training centre to courses and ran a special week of workshops to inspire kids from four local high schools to think about working in engineering. At the end of the week, we held our own careers day, where we invited local employers to come and talk to them. It was a great success. The trick is to make engineering more approachable and inclusive for everyone.
“I feel very lucky to have found this job and this team I’m with now. Working as a woman in the trades isn’t easy. I’ve had to put up with a lot of negativity and prejudice over the years, but I feel things are changing and if I can do anything to help that happen, I’m chuffed.”
If you’re keen to find out more about Gas Certification Company Ltd. and the work they do for professional and would-be engineers in Scotland and the North of England, please click here. If you’d like to find out more about LCL Awards’ Inclusivity Charter, please click here.