NDA Mentor scheme
Championing success with JCS and Carillion Plc
As part of the NDA SME Action Plan, the SME business Mentor Scheme is a volunteer scheme where the NDA match up mentors and mentees. All UK-based SMEs are eligible but must aspire to work in nuclear decommissioning or have an existing involvement.
Our Experience
After successfully applying to take part in the NDA SME Mentoring scheme, Oliver Caunt from JCS Ltd was paired up with Paul Kelly from Carillion PLC to embark as one of the NDA’s first Mentor Scheme cohort.
With the valuable guidance from the NDA team, ground rules, objectives, and expectations were openly discussed between mentor and mentee with an overarching theme of promoting SME engagement within the NDA estate supply chain, exploring the challenges that large organisations have in working with SME’s and sharing knowledge and lessons learned throughout the programme.
Both Paul and Oliver agreed to set a strict meeting schedule, and also to define an agenda to focus conversations during each meeting throughout the scheme. This was very helpful to help plan and maximise both party’s time together. Each meeting had a specific theme where challenges and discussion points, plus desired outcomes were planned in advance. The primary topics were how and where to best promote JCS as a specialist SME nuclear sensing and shielding provider across the NDA estate and supply chain.
The NDA SME Mentorship scheme has been a resounding success – underpinning new strategies to promote the capability of an SME across the NDA estate, developing new business and supporting the growth of JCS. Equally the programme has helped encourage essential learning and understanding of how SME’s and engage with large organisations within the NDA Supply chain, setting standards for innovative working practices to help solve complex decommissioning challenges, as well as reflecting Carillion’s desire to engage with the SME supply chain.
NDA Quote
“JCS has a measurable positive impact from the NDA Estate Mentoring Scheme, where Oliver Caunt has developed a great relationship with Paul Kelly from Carillion, which continues far beyond the 1-year scheme. Paul was instrumental in helping JCS develop and successfully implement new strategies that are now bringing growth to the company. JCS is now developing new POCO focused solutions and supplying to wider organisations within the NDA supply chain, actively promoting new partnerships and ultimately driving value back to the NDA estate.”
