What matters more when you're hiring someone new: the grades on the page, or everything else?

For Joanne Lennox, it's everything else.

In this episode of Workplus, host Richard Kirk sits down with Joanne Lennox, Founder of JLC Solutions and one of the people behind one of Northern Ireland's earliest apprenticeship pathways in construction. Joanne spent over thirty years working in the people function, from the shop floor to senior HR leadership, before stepping away from the corporate world to become an independent consultant.

Joanne talks candidly about why she got her first job in a coffee shop just to start earning, why she pushed back on the idea of being "work ready" in favour of being "life ready," and why only 11 percent of employers in Northern Ireland currently offer apprenticeships. She also shares the honest truth about what actually makes a candidate stand out in an interview, and what doesn't.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, young person preparing for interviews, or an employer thinking about building an apprenticeship programme of your own, this episode is full of practical, no-nonsense advice.

In This Episode:

— Why Joanne chose a coffee shop job over anything else, just to start earning

— The difference between being "work ready" and being "life ready"

— What the "people function" really means beyond traditional HR

— How Joanne helped build one of Northern Ireland's first apprenticeship pathways in construction

— Why only 11% of employers in Northern Ireland offer apprenticeships, and why that's a missed opportunity

— What actually differentiates candidates at interview, beyond their grades

— Joanne's honest interview pet peeves after decades on the other side of the table

— Her advice to her own 16-year-old: don't panic, you don't need it all figured out

— What's so good about work, fifteen years after that first coffee shop shift

YouTube Chapters:

00:00 - Welcome to Workplus

00:21 - What did you do for work experience at school?

02:06 - The skills work experience gives you that a classroom can't

04:12 - Work ready vs life ready

06:31 - What is the "people function"?

08:35 - Building a toolkit: how HR skills develop over a career

13:11 - Advice for a 16-year-old trying to choose a path

16:32 - Building one of NI's first apprenticeship pathways

20:03 - What apprenticeships opened up for the organisation

25:33 - Why only 11% of NI employers offer apprenticeships

26:50 - What really differentiates candidates at an interview

30:17 - Interview pet peeves

33:35 - Learning from a degree apprentice in her own team

36:14 - Advice to her 16-year-old self

38:01 - What is so good about work?

Thanks for watching Workplus, the podcast that shines a light on the people doing good work across Northern Ireland.

Find more stories, resources, and tools to help guide the next generation at workplus.app

Know someone exploring their career options? Share this with a parent, teacher, or future leader.

Subscribe so you never miss a story.

#careerdevelopment #apprenticeships #northernirelandcareers #workpluspodcast #hrleadership #careeradvice #youthemployment

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.

🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app

📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.

🎙 Follow so you never miss a story.

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.

🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app

📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.

🎙Follow so you never miss a story.

Produced by APodcastGeek https://apodcastgeek.com/

What does it take to build a rewarding career in engineering — and does it matter how you get there? Not as much as you might think.

In this final episode of the Workplus NIE Networks series, host Richard Kirk sits down with two engineers whose routes into the company couldn't be more different. Joel McCreery studied electrical engineering at Queen's and joined NIE Networks' network innovation team straight from university.

Sinéad Norwood worked at Next for ten years, was a classroom assistant, and applied for a cable jointing apprenticeship at the age of twenty-six — after watching the children in her class apply during a careers session.

Together, they paint a vivid picture of what a career at NIE Networks really looks like: the variety, the responsibility, the learning, and the sense that no two days are ever quite the same.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, young person exploring careers, or someone thinking about a career change at any age, this episode is full of honest insight about what it means to do work that genuinely matters.

In This Episode:
— How Sinéad went from Next and classroom assistant to cable jointing apprentice at twenty-six
— Why Joel picked up a Queen's engineering brochure in the back of a classroom and never looked back
— What cable jointing actually involves — and why it is probably less dangerous than you think
— How NIE Networks supported Sinéad through a degree in electrical engineering after her apprenticeship
— What the network innovation team does and why flexibility services are key to Northern Ireland's net zero future
— Why resilience and adaptability matter more than any module you studied at university
— What change management looks like inside a major utilities company
— Why no two days are the same — from underground shutdowns to community forums
— The advice both guests would give their sixteen-year-old selves
— Why the possibilities within NIE Networks are, in Sinéad's words, endless

YouTube Chapters:
00:00 - Opening quotes
00:29 - Welcome to Workplus
01:14 - Meet Joel McCreery and Sinéad Norwood
01:20 - School subjects and early interests
02:32 - Sinéad's non-traditional path
03:09 - Joel's part-time work and summer jobs
04:22 - Joel's work experience in aerospace manufacturing
05:51 - How Sinéad's varied career led her to NIE Networks
07:39 - Applying for a cable jointing apprenticeship at twenty-six
08:53 - What cable jointing actually involves
09:54 - From apprentice to graduate: Sinéad's degree journey
11:17 - How Joel found his way to NIE Networks via Queen's and SONI
13:09 - What the network innovation team does
14:57 - Flexibility services and the energy transition
16:16 - Skills needed every day on the job
18:34 - Change management, resilience and adaptability
19:44 - Data, net zero and the future of the network
21:06 - Advice to their sixteen-year-old selves
22:59 - What is so good about work?
25:00 - Closing thoughts

Thanks for watching Workplus, the podcast that shines a light on the people doing good work across Northern Ireland.

Find more stories, resources, and tools to help guide the next generation at workplus.app

Know someone exploring their career options? Share this with a parent, teacher, or future leader.

Subscribe so you never miss a story.

#careerdevelopment #apprenticeships #northernirelandcareers #workpluspodcast #nienetworks #energytransition #womeninengineering #youthemployment

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.

🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app

📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.

🎙 Follow so you never miss a story.

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.

🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app

📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.

🎙Follow so you never miss a story.

Produced by APodcastGeek https://apodcastgeek.com/

What if you don't know what you want to do at sixteen — but you're willing to work hard and stay open to what comes next?
Everything.

Meet Mark Nixon, Head of Digital Delivery at NIE Networks. Mark didn't have a five-year plan when he left secondary school. He studied economics, English, and geography at A-level not because he knew where they'd take him, but because they interested him. His career breakthrough came from a summer placement at an insurance company, then a clerical trainee role at Northern Ireland Electricity managing the company fleet.

But here's where the story shifts: Mark became curious about the IT systems behind his job. An aptitude test, a programming course in Austria, and thirty years of growing expertise transformed him into one of the people driving net zero ambitions across Northern Ireland. He even left NIE for eleven years to develop himself elsewhere — then came back stronger, eventually leading the entire digital delivery function.

This is a story about attitude, openness, and the power of a strong work ethic. Mark's advice to his younger self applies to anyone questioning their path: don't stress about knowing exactly what you want to do. Find an organisation that lets you explore, stay honest, work hard, and stay open to opportunities as they come.

In This Episode:
• Why not knowing your career direction at sixteen is completely normal
• From clerical trainee to Head of Digital Delivery
• The one thing that matters more than qualifications
• Why technology and IT are genuinely solid career choices right now
• Cybersecurity as a fast-growing, essential field
• How IT systems are central to achieving net zero
• Using data to make safer, smarter decisions on energy networks
• What it means to work as part of Northern Ireland's fabric
• Developing and leading the next generation of talent
• How the meaning of work evolves as your career grows

YouTube Chapters:
0:00 – Why technology is a strong career path
1:34 – School subjects and career uncertainty
2:36 – First work experience at Friends Provident
3:59 – The power of being part of a team
6:07 – First real job: clerical trainee at NIE Networks
7:10 – Managing the vehicle fleet
8:20 – How curiosity sparked a career change
10:12 – Discovering your passion through doing
11:44 – What really drives success in tech
12:30 – Attitude and work ethic are everything
14:08 – Why IT is central to decarbonisation
14:45 – Technology as a solid, secure career choice
16:29 – The huge demand for cybersecurity skills
18:25 – Being part of the fabric of Northern Ireland
20:03 – Advice to your sixteen-year-old self
21:25 – Career growth, leaving, and coming back
22:59 – What's really good about work

Thanks for watching Workplus, the podcast that shines a light on the people doing good work across Northern Ireland.

Find more stories, resources, and tools to help guide the next generation at workplus.app

Know someone exploring their career options? Share this with a parent, teacher, or future leader.

Subscribe so you never miss a story.

#Workplus #CareerAdvice #Technology #CareersInTech #NIENetworks #NorthernIreland #NetZero #YoungPeople #CareerJourney #Podcast

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.
🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app
📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.
🎙 Follow so you never miss a story.

🎧 Thanks for listening to Workplus, the podcast that brings real jobs into the light.

🔗 Find more stories, tools, and guides to help young people and returners explore meaningful careers at workplus.app

📩 Know someone who would find this helpful? Share it with a parent, teacher, or future changemaker.

🎙Follow so you never miss a story.

Produced by APodcastGeek https://apodcastgeek.com/