Interview with Bob Athwal, Head of Graduate Schemes at RWE nPower

By Christopher Van Mossevelde

1. How do you define your employer brand in one or two words?

From a graduate perspective, our employer brand is brighter graduates. We’re looking for Britain’s brightest people to come and work for Britain’s brightest energy company.

2. What differentiates you from your competitors?

Our people are a key differentiator. People who are knowledgeable about the industry itself and also people that want to perform and drive results. We also have various types of opportunities for all kinds of people for whichever career ladder they want to climb.

3. What are you working on right now?

I’m working on a number of projects at the moment, notably graduate induction which is a week from now and I’m just working on my final presentation.

4. What new initiatives have you developed?

A new competition was launched over the summer called “Future Leaders”. It’s an opportunity for graduates to win two weeks in the Antarctic with Robert Swan, who was the first man to walk through the North and South Pole. Future Leaders is about the impact of climate change. We want our future leaders to debate climate change with Robert and see what countries like ours are doing to help. You can read more about this on www.npower.com/futureLeaders/

5. How does the talent market perceive you as an employer?

They recognize us as one of the top 100 graduate employers and we’ve been for the last three years. We’re also recognised as one of the top 50 places for women to work. RWE nPower is highly regarded in the business community and we’ve also been awarded with the CommunityMark. I would say that we are a highly attractive employer due to our credentials and what we represent.