Changing for the better with UKAEA

Created by VERCIDA for UKAEA

A career change after years as a social worker has led Sara Paige on an exciting path with new responsibilities and a role as an EDI ambassador at UKAEA.

I’ve worked for UKAEA since 2020, starting out as a technical administrator.  I had been made redundant from a job as a social worker, working in temping roles but really wanted a more meaningful job, UKAEA provided me with an opportunity to join and develop new skills in a new career.

When I was made redundant, it was time for a change. My first role with UKAEA was a contracting role, but I really enjoyed working there, so I applied and got a permanent position as a technical coordinator. It wasn’t quite the right position for me, so I asked my line manager if there were ways to change my role through training or a transfer. They were really good about it and I couldn’t be happier with my current role as a unit coordinator.

One of the great things about working at UKAEA is the opportunity to progress. My role has expanded – from starting in mainly admin, I now deal with a major UKAEA contract overseeing high-value invoices, technical databases, financial checks for contracting teams, and measurement and reporting of key performance indicators (KPIs).

The continuous e-learning on offer at UKAEA has been invaluable, especially during the pandemic when I needed to find ways to continue with my personal development. UKAEA has a catalogue of online courses that we can choose from, as well as being provided with alternative courses by our line managers. In September, I will be doing an Institute of Occupational Safety and Health safety management course (IOSH). I haven’t got an engineering background, but it is amazing how much I have learned in three years.

As well as being able to progress my career at UKAEA, I have taken on the voluntary role of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) ambassador for my division. In this role, we do a wide range of projects that cover all aspects of diversity, including gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, and religious and spiritual beliefs. We have KPIs to measure the progress we make with continuous change. When we have achieved a KPI, we then move on and look at other areas where we need to improve diversity.

Right now, we are trying to promote more females in my division, such as engaging in different ways of advertising to attract more women to apply for jobs with UKAEA, especially in the engineering division. Many of the roles are historically stereotyped to men, such as technicians, crane operators and scaffolding so this will be a great challenge to take on.

As well as improving the way we advertise jobs to women, another gender equality project that I have been involved with is about providing better facilities for female employees. We have just had several women join the organisation in the waste services team. But the female showers and changing rooms were a long way from the work site, so we have been working to ensure there are suitable facilities for women that are as easy to access as the men’s showers. It is important to make these changes, so everyone feels safe and comfortable at work.

Another project I have been involved with is improving accessibility and adjustments for a neurodiverse employee. There are simple things that organisations can do to make it easier for people to go to work.

I also find that a lot of people will come to me to share their problems at work – I think my social work experience comes in useful here – and I am always happy to do what I can when someone pops in wanting to talk to me. I once suggested that someone should go home because they needed some time and space away from work. It was great how supportive their line manager was when I said that I thought it was the best thing to do after I had a conversation in confidence in my office.