Viridor and its construction partners welcomed a delegation of American engineering students to the £205m Energy Recovery Facility on Beddington Lane, Sutton to understand how learning about engineering at school and university can offer real job opportunities in South London.
As the construction project continues, Viridor and it’s construction partners, Lagan Construction Group, CNIM and Fichtner took the opportunity to welcome three American engineering students who have been visiting the UK as part of their degree programme. Staying nearby, they took the opportunity to visit the Energy Recovery Facility that will, once operational offer a sustainable alternative to landfilling the household waste produced by the four Boroughs of the South London Waste Partnership generating electricity from what remains in residents waste bins.
The waste sector has not traditionally been seen as an attractive career option for young people entering the world of work; however as the way the UK sees waste has changed over recent years, the industry has looked to state-of-the-art technology to enhance the value in this resource. In order to maximise this potential, students with an interest in science, technology and engineering and mathematics are being encouraged to challenge their perceptions of the industry and discover where a career could take them.
“Viridor has committed to develop a £1.8bn network of state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facilities to recover energy from unwanted waste across the UK. These projects have formed the largest UK power investment over the last three years and have required a large number of project engineers. As we transition into the operational phases of these facilities a new engineering skill set is required offering further opportunity. It is a great pleasure to welcome young engineers to our sites to understand how we operate.”Alan Cumming, Capital Projects and Engineering Director for Virido
“As part of our studies we were given the opportunity to visit the UK, and have been working in South London, bordering the Beddington Farmlands. We have observed the construction project from a distance and being able to visit the facility and speak with the engineers building it has enabled us to understand the possibilities and skills required to deliver modern infrastructure in the UK.”Andrew Rathbun, Engineering Student spoke about his visit