“I’d be going out on visits and carrying out deliveries, making every day different” – Hamzah’s Story

My name is Hamzah, I am 22 years old and from Rochdale. I joined Groundwork as an Energyworks trainee Green Doctor through the UK Year of Service scheme. Before this I wasn’t sure what career I wanted, I was just doing odd jobs here and there, getting through the challenging Covid period the best I could.

Working at Groundwork

The main thing that attracted me to the role at Groundwork was the fact I would be working for a charity; helping people out and making a difference to their lives, something I imagined would give me great job satisfaction. Additionally, the type of role I was taking meant I would not be in an office every day, instead I’d be going out on visits and carrying out deliveries, making every day a bit different.

I’ve been working as a Trainee Green Doctor for 6 months now. My job includes providing energy advice to vulnerable people who are living in fuel poverty. By providing this advice we help make sure houses are as energy efficient as possible. Where they are not, I provide small energy saving measures such as LED lightbulbs and radiator foils to help keep the homes warm. This results in improved efficiency as well as helping save on gas and electric bills, meaning the people we support can use their money on more important things.

The types of people that the Green Doctors help varies and can be anybody really. If there is something that we cannot help them with, then we can refer them on to other organisations. We also help residents with any problems they are having with their suppliers including managing their bills, debt and getting the best deals/tariffs.

Helping Tackle Climate Change

It’s clear that my job helps tackle climate change. We make houses more energy efficient by minimising their energy consumption, which in turn reduces the resident’s carbon footprint.
In my opinion, more greener jobs like mine are needed. The world is trying to reduce climate change and save the planet. These green roles that are being created will help distribute information and speed up the transition process of going green.

Next Steps

It’s great to be working in a secure role and be receiving a thorough training programme. Once I complete my training, I’d like to become a fully-fledged Green Doctor!
From here, I’d continue in this role for a while and then just see where it leads me.