Drax engineering duo become mentors through programme set up in memory of Princess Diana

Mustapha Cham and Sean Kilbride, who both work on the Innovation Team at Drax Power Station near Selby, North Yorkshire, were accepted onto the Autumn 2024 cohort of the Diana Award’s mentoring programme, run by the charity which was set up in memory of the late Princess Diana 25 years ago.  

The Diana Award Mentoring Programme offers a twelve-week group mentoring and career skills development initiative for young people aged 14-18 who are ‘at risk of becoming NEET’ in Leeds & West Yorkshire and London. The programme provides professional guidance, career skills training, and encourages youth-led social action projects addressing community issues, in memory of the late princess Diana.

For Mustapha Cham, the programme represents an opportunity to help those in a similar position to himself at Westborough High School in Dewsbury, having moved from The Gambia to Yorkshire at a young age.

"I was born in The Gambia and moved to the UK at 11, starting school halfway through year eight in an environment where I was different from the other students. I wanted to be in a school where I could meet young people with similar backgrounds. That’s why I wanted to mentor at the school in Dewsbury, which has a lot of diverse pupils from different cultural backgrounds." He explains

“When I look back at how I was at that age, I would have really appreciated it if someone from the industry who looked and spoke like me came in to mentor us and talk about what it is like to work at a place like Drax Power Station.”

Not only did Mustapha find himself adapting to a new country at a young age, he also struggled to show his true academic potential due to his stammer.  

“For someone with a stammer, what I always had in my mind when I was younger, was that I wasn't good enough. Communication wasn't one my best skills and therefore I acted in a certain way that made me the scapegoat of our classroom.”

He adds: “That was a way of me showing my feelings and it reminds me of some of the young people that I mentor. They can't really express how they feel, so therefore, sitting down with them, talking about my journey, my vulnerabilities and where I am today, some of them I can see saying ‘Wow, OK. There is a way of getting there.’”

Sean Kilbride, who also works as an innovation engineer at Drax Power Station looks back on his struggles at school as one of the key motivations to become a mentor through the Diana Award.

“My daughter was diagnosed as dyslexic in 2023 and through this diagnosis it was apparent that I too have the same struggles when it comes processing information such as reading, writing and grammar, something I wish I had known back when I was at school. School is something I really struggled with, and I only wish someone would had have told me back then that academic ability isn’t a limiting factor when it comes to having a successful career. It’s about honing the skills you do have and making the most of them.”

Sean has since gone on to work across several teams at Drax, including successfully progressing through Drax’s Development Engineer programme to become a mechanical engineer during the back end of Drax Power Station’s transition from coal to sustainable biomass. Now in the innovation team, Sean’s focus is firmly set on clean energy and how Drax can reduce its emissions through BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) and other decarbonisation opportunities.

“We’ve done CV sessions, looked at career pathways and we always try to gamify these things to keep the mentees engaged. We even made a ping pong game to help them write a CV for a job interview, which they were hesitant of at first but once they got past that initial disengagement and actually had fun. Before they knew it had built a CV.” Sean says. 

The programme itself offers support for young people at a time where the UK is struggling with social mobility and equality of opportunity. Over the past three years, children and young people have experienced significant disruption to their education.

Research from the Office for National Statistics indicates that there are an estimated 900,000 NEET young people in the UK- that is 12.6% of young people.  

Coming to the end of their first 12-week mentoring programme, both Sean and Mustapha joined their mentees on a tour of Drax Power Station where they got to meet the power station’s resident canine condition-based monitoring robot Sparky.

“The trip to the power station was a great experience for my mentees.” Said Sean.

“I think it is an eye opener when they can see that they could have a fulfilling career at a place like Drax (Power Station). I’m proud that the Diana award have given me the platform to hopefully show them that I was in their situation once, and now I have a role in reshaping the future with Drax.”

Speaking on what the mentoring scheme with the Diana Award has given him, Mustapha emphasised that the key to helping young people at risk of becoming NEET is getting them the right support.

“A mentoring programme like this allows me to just show people and tell people it really doesn't matter about your background or what you've got. You can work on big things like BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture) and other important projects in different industries. Any young person can achieve that, with the proper support and encouragement to embrace their vulnerabilities.”

A spokesperson for The Diana Award Mentoring Programme in Leeds paid tribute to the effect the trip to Drax Power Station had on their mentoring cohort

“A big thanks to Sean & Mustapha from Drax for organising the day, the mentees absolutely loved it, and some said they want to look into apprenticeships there.

“When asked where they want to work when they are older, one shouted out ‘DRAX!’ So, I think they have definitely done their job in inspiring young people at risk of becoming NEET”