Meet the Graduates: Laura's journey

We’re looking for graduates or those in their final year of studying a STEM degree with a grade of 2:1 or higher. Want to know more? Hear from Laura Duckels, AI Graduate…

What is your current role in Welsh Water?

I am on the AI Graduate programme and started in September 2022.

What did you study at university and what were your initial thoughts about careers once you’d graduated? Had you considered a graduate scheme?

I studied Mathematics at the University of Leeds from 2017-20. I was quite afraid and anxious of applying to jobs, so I decided to begin applying after I graduated. There weren’t many graduate opportunities around at that point due to the pandemic and most graduate roles were to start the next September, so at that point I realised I had made a mistake in waiting to apply to roles.

I eventually did land a 3-month internship within the water industry for a different company, and after this I decided to pursue a Masters degree in Data Science and Analytics at the University of Leeds for the year 2021-22 to allow myself more time to find the right graduate job and to develop my skills and employability for a data science role, as that year out of education and searching for jobs gave me a better idea of what I would be interested in for a career.

How did you find out about the Welsh Water graduate scheme? What made you want to apply?

Having learned from my 2020-21 post-graduation experience, I made sure to use my Masters year wisely in applying for graduate roles to have something lined up for the end of my degree. Since I had a little experience and interest in the water industry, I kept an eye out for roles within the water industry.

I found the Welsh Water AI Graduate scheme and thought it was a perfect fit for me, considering the role is incredibly close to what I studied during my Masters degree. Having studied at home for university, I was very eager to move somewhere new, and moving to South Wales from Leeds seemed very exciting!

How did you find the application and onboarding process? How did you feel when you learned you were accepted?

Interviews are never a delightful thing to go through, but my interview with Welsh Water was very positive. It’s strange to think back on, because I now know the people who interviewed me, but not exactly who as I didn’t know them back then. When I received a phone call to say that I had been offered the role, I accepted right away. I worried that I was too eager, but I was excited to have landed this role in an industry and profession I was interested in. Having a job lined up for September 2022 at the start of the year was really reassuring and took a lot of stress off my back, knowing I now only had to focus on my degree.

Where did you start in Welsh Water? Tell us about your journey through the business to where you are today.

The Data graduate schemes offered by Welsh Water can change every year: some graduate schemes rotate through the four teams (Data Science, Business Inelligence, Data Governance and Data Engineering) over the two years, and others stay within one team (in my case, the Data Science team). While it would be valuable to experience all teams, data science is the area I was specifically interested in, and I feel that I’m able to specialise sooner than otherwise. It also gives me comfort in that the role I will enter after the graduate scheme is pre-determined.

How have you found the support for developing your career so far?

Welsh Water has so many development opportunities, both in and outside of the graduate programme. At the start of the programme, my AI graduate colleague and I got the opportunity to attend a month-long data science bootcamp course at the University of South Wales to help get us both up to speed with data science techniques. As a graduate cohort, we also have training sessions together throughout the two years on topics such as leadership and managing difficult conversations, which are not only great opportunities in themselves but also to get to know each other better. I’ve been on many site visits to see water and wastewater treatment works, the visitor centres and the dams, which have been helpful in gaining a broader view of how Welsh Water operates.

Do you have any plans for where you’d like your career to go?

I would like to become fully competent in my role and be less dependent on support from my team, which I’m sure will come with experience over time. I don’t have any lofty goals to climb the career ladder and like to take things at my own pace. My goals may change over time and that’s okay; I’m quite content with becoming proficient in my current role.

I have really enjoyed getting to know the other grads in my year and the year above. They’re a great group of people and their advice and experience can be invaluable. Having the other grads is an easy way to speak to others within different departments to broaden your network, obtain further connections and gain insight into what other departments are working on within the business.

You can apply for our 2024 graduate programme here: dwrcymru.com/graduates. Applications close January 14th 2024. The starting salary for all our graduate opportunities is £28,105.