What would you class as ‘long service’? In the modern workplace, it’s probably fair to say that most of us would consider 20-25 years with the one company as a pretty solid career.
And while a career of that length is certainly nothing to be sniffed at, we’d like to take this very rare opportunity to raise the long service bar that little bit further and celebrate the 54-year career of Chris Bennell, who joined SSE on 3 September 1970!
We caught up with Chris to learn more about his remarkable career with SSE.
“As I look back on my 54 years with SSE, it’s hard to believe that it all began on 3 September 1970, when I started as an apprentice electrician. I was just a young lad back then and never imagined that this apprenticeship would lead me to such a long and fulfilling career. I was fortunate enough to be awarded “Apprentice of the Year” during my training, which was a huge honour.
“In 1974 I completed my apprenticeship and carried on as an electrician, a role I really enjoyed. I stayed in that position until 1979 when I was promoted to ‘Installation Inspector’. That promotion felt like a significant step forward, and soon enough, I found myself working in Current Transformer (CT) metering – a CT meter is installed on a connection over 100 amps - where I was involved with some key projects.
“By 2018, I was ready for a new challenge and applied for a position in Rapid Response, which is the part of our business which deals with any faults on the network which need to be resolved as safely and as quickly as possible. Ever since then, I’ve been working as part of a team out of the New Forest depot, and it’s been incredibly rewarding. The nature of the job means that each day presents new challenges, and even after all these years, I still enjoy the work and camaraderie with the team.”
To put Chris’ 54-year career into context, we had a look at some of the major events that have occurred when Chris has been helping power the local communities across Hampshire…and beyond.
Walls come tumbling down Germany had been divided into East and West by the Berlin Wall, which went up in 1961, where it remained in place until the unforgettable scenes in 1989 when it came crashing down.
Yes, Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath was Prime Minister when Chris started with SSE, with Sir Keir Starmer being the 13th PM to take office during this time.
Back of the net! The world has enjoyed the spectacle of 15 Olympics and 13 World Cups – sadly there’s been no home nations winners of the latter, although England did win in 1966.
I want my MTV When Chris started with SSE, the UK had three TV channels, with the FA Cup, Test Matches and The Open all on terrestrial TV – and before even get to 24-hr cable satellite TV, in 1970 we didn’t even have Channels 4 and 5!
As this is a celebration of Chris’ career with SSE, it’s only fitting that it ends with a few words from the great man himself:
“Looking back, I never expected to spend over five decades here, but I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had, and the people I’ve met along the way. Here’s to many more years and thank you to everybody who’s been part of this journey with me.”