E.ON UK

E.ON comes from the Greek word “aeon” which means eternity. The company’s only been around since 2000, but in the span of a few years E.ON has become a significant player in the global energy industry. This German public utility giant covers everything from generating power and gas to trading commodities.

Headquartered in Düsseldorf, E.ON was formed as a result of the merger of VEBA and VIAG, two German energy corporations. This consolidation allowed E.ON to extend its reach. Domestically, the company has nuclear reactors and coal power plants in Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, while internationally E.ON’s power business stretches to both the UK and US.

The company’s entry into both these markets was in a large part due to its 2002 assimilation of Powergen, then a major energy player on the UK scene with control of a United States Midwest provider, LG&E Energy.

Today E.ON UK has around 12,500 employees and is one of the big UK retail energy suppliers: it provides energy services to over 5 million residential and business customers across the country, and also specialises in energy consulting, metering, street lighting, heating installation and maintenance, gas storage, and energy trading.

Looking to the future, E.ON doesn’t simply pay lip service to the subject of renewable energy. The German giant set up a subsidiary, E.ON Wasserkraft, which has become the leading supplier of hydropower in Central Europe, and closer to home, E.ON UK is a large and steady supplier of renewable energy installations in Britain.

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E.ON takes on approximately 300 graduates across Europe every year; all have top grades and the majority are fluent in both English and German. The company generally looks for candidates with a degree in marketing, management or economics, and an engineering degree certainly goes a long way.

The first step in applying to E.ON UK is filling in a standard online application form. This is followed by a 15 minute, multiple choice questionnaire about work related issues and a standard 20 minute SHL online test. Those that pass will then have a phone interview which lasts about 45 minutes (or an in person interview, if applying to the science and engineering excellence programme). The last hurdle is an assessment centre which involves a case study, group exercise, role play and finally further interviews conducted by senior managers.

For those that make the cull, E.ON UK offers two graduate schemes:

The Commercial Scheme lasts for two years and consists of four placements across a variety of departments including International Business Management, Sales and Marketing, General Management, Finance, Human Resources, IT and Business Change. With one of the placements overseas, candidates get a broad feel for the way E.ON works before deciding to specialise.

Engineering is an integral part of E.ON’s business, and the firm’s Engineering Graduate Scheme fittingly offers 3 specialised schemes to choose from:

• The Engineering Leadership Scheme is more generalist and gives candidates the chance to help senior teams on projects such as designing network connections for biomass generators, reducing the company’s carbon emissions or operating existing power stations.
• The Science and Engineering Excellence Scheme does what it says on the tin and looks to develop grads into technical specialists, experts in a specific field of engineering, whether it be electrical or chemical.
• The Exploration and Production Scheme will have you work for Ruhrgas E&P, one of E.ON’s upstream companies focussing on exploration and production in the North Sea.

These schemes offer salaries that range from £26,500 to £38,000 (for those with PHD’s). Before applying to any of the schemes, interested students can always look into doing a 48 week undergraduate placement in either engineering or commercial.

E.ON’s head office in Germany also offers several more graduate programmes, which run anywhere from 18 to 24 months and specialise in energy distribution, sales and services or energy trading.

Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact:
Tel: 0845 300 1427
Email: eongraduates@tmpw.co.uk or gradrecruitment@eon-uk.com

Stats

No. of employees worldwide: 79,000
No. of employees in the UK: 12,500
Annual graduate intake: 40
Student placements: 15

Salary

Graduate starting salary: £26,500 – £38,000

Departments

Carbon Sourcing
Distribution
Gas Storage & Consumption
Gas Supply & Production
Power Generation
Sales
Trading