Utilities operator

As a utility operator you ensure water heat and energy reach homes and businesses. You operate and maintain utility systems such as district heating plants waterworks and cogeneration plants and keep an eye on everything running safely and efficiently. You become someone who has responsibility for something of the most fundamental in society.

§What do you do in everyday life?

You monitor plant and instruments, check boilers, pumps and pipes and step in if something deviates. You keep an eye on the network so that no water or heat leaks out, and you carry out inspections and minor repairs. Much of the work is about keeping operation stable and finding faults before they turn into problems.

• 01You learn to operate and monitor supply systems.
• 02You learn to read and understand measuring instruments and operational data.
• 03You learn to inspect and maintain boilers, pumps, and pipes.
• 04You learn about water, heat, energy, and environmentally responsible operation.
• 05You learn to troubleshoot and respond to operational disruptions.
• 06You learn to work safely with technical installations.

§How do you get started?

You start with a basic course at a vocational school and then find an apprenticeship with a utility company — for example a district heating company or a waterworks. You get trainee wages along the way and the education alternates between school and practical training so you learn both the technology and the operation's everyday life.

§The way forward

As a fully trained utility operator you can work at heating water and cogeneration plants or in buildings with large technical systems for example hospitals and factories. With experience and further education you can move towards operational responsibility energy optimisation and a greener transition of the utilities.

“When you turn on heat and turn on water there's a distribution operator who's ensured it just comes.”