Making the cut: Openreach’s Justine takes aim at being top of the chops
Openreach engineer is chip off the old block according to her manager (Gweler fersiwn Cymraeg isod / Welsh language version available below)
Justine Narusa will be taking a short break from pulling fibre cable for Openreach across North Wales when she competes today (Monday, 18 July) in the Royal Welsh Wood Chopping competition in Builth Wells.
The event will see some of the top European female competitors battle it out using axes and two metre crosscut saws in timed races to be titled this year’s Royal Welsh Wood Chopping Champion.
Each discipline will see the athletes slice and chop their way through large logs in seconds displaying high levels of power, precision and endurance. Competitors are awarded maximum points for the fastest time, with the athlete accumulating the most points crowned champion.
Justine, originally from Latvia but now living and working as a cabler in Caernarfon, only picked up an axe a little over 10 weeks ago, after being encouraged to do so by her manager in Openreach, Andrew Evans.
Andrew, who’s represented and captained Great Britain in Timbersport in competitions around the World for more than 12 years, saw the potential in Justine as a ‘lumberjill’ after seeing her cabling for Openreach.
Andrew explains: “We’ve got a variety of jobs across Openreach which suits everybody – from desk based roles to fibre jointers but being a fibre cabler can be physically hard work as the cable which carries our fibre needs to be robust so is rather heavy.”
“I was really impressed with how Justine made light work of pulling the cable through our ducts and immediately thought that she had some potential in Timbersport.”
Andrew took it upon himself to see if that potential could be fulfilled and started coaching Justine after work. What followed was hours of training, cutting and sawing wood which culminated with four intensive training camps in Cabalva near Hay-On-Wye.
Fast forward 10 weeks and Andrew felt that Justine was ready to be entered in the first ever Female Timbersport Championship in Malvern, Worcestershire, at the Royal Three Counties show ground in front of a sell-out crowd.
Justine confirmed her manager’s confidence by coming second – only four points behind the winner.
Hoping that she can go one step further this week and finish with a gold at the Royal Welsh Justine said “I’m really looking forward to competing in front of a packed Royal Welsh crowd. The standard will be extremely high but I’ve trained hard with the support of Andrew so fingers crossed I can win gold.”
“Timbersport provides incredible opportunitesto travel the world and pit yourself against the very best in wood chopping. Who knows, if I wasn’t working for Openreach and not have Andrew as a colleague I may never have experienced these opportunities.”
Openreach employs the UK’s largest team of telecoms engineers and professionals, and has committed to building a more diverse and inclusive team in an industry that’s traditionally been very white, male dominated. Last financial year, the company attracted around 530 women into trainee engineering roles – more than double the previous year. The boost was thanks partly to employing language experts to transform its job adverts and descriptions, making them gender neutral.
About Openreach in Wales
Openreach is well on track to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses with access to Full Fibre ultrafast broadband by December 2026 and has already reached around 450,000 properties across Wales.
With a workforce of around 2,300 across Wales, Openreach already employs the nation’s largest team of telecoms engineers and professionals. The business recently announced that it would create and fill around 250 additional jobs throughout Wales during 2022 as it continues to invest billions of pounds into its UK broadband network, people and training.
Across Wales more than 100,000 homes and businesses have already ordered a full fibre service from a range of retail service providers using the Openreach network. But this means that thousands more could be benefiting from some of the fastest, most reliable broadband connections in Europe and have yet to upgrade.
Justine Openreach yn anelu am aur yn Sioe Llanelwedd
Bydd Justine Narusa yn cymryd egwyl o’i gwaith yn gosod ceblau ffeibr ar draws y gogledd pan fydd yn cystadlu heddiw (Llun 18 Gorffennaf) mewn cystadleuaeth torri coed Sioe Frenhinol Cymru yn Llanelwedd ger Llanfair ym Muallt.
Bydd merched gorau Ewrop yn cystadlu gyda bwyeill a llifiau trawstorri 2 metr i ennill teitl Pencampwr Torri Coed y Sioe 2022.
Ym mhob cymal o’r gystadleuaeth, bydd y merched yn torri boncyffion coed mawr mewn eiliadau wrth ddefnyddio pŵer, sgiliau ac ynni, gan dderbyn y sgôr uchaf am yr amser cyflymaf. Y cystadleuydd yn crynhoi’r cyfanswm pwyntiau uchaf yn y pen draw fydd yn ennill y tlws.
Magwyd Justine yn Latvia ond erbyn hyn mae’n byw a gweithio fel gosodwr ceblau yn ardal Caernarfon. Y tro cyntaf iddi gydio mewn bwyell oedd ychydig dros 10 wythnos yn ôl, ar ôl i’w rheolwr Andrew Evans ei chymell i wneud hynny.
Mae Andrew wedi cynrychioli ac wedi bod yn gapten tîm Timbersport Prydain mewn cystadlaethau ar draws y byd am dros 12 blynedd. Fe welodd botensial Justine fel ‘lumberjill’ ar ôl gweld ei gwaith yn gosod ceblau ar ran Openreach.*
Esboniodd Andrew: “Mae gennym amrywiaeth o swyddi ar draws Openreach sy’n gallu cynnig opsiynau i bawb - o waith desg i osod ceblau, ond mae’r gwaith hwnnw yn gallu bod yn galed oherwydd bod y ceblau yn eitha’ trwm.”
“Roedd yn amlwg bod tynnu ceblau drwy ddwythellau yn hawdd i Justine, gan awgrymu y gallai fwynhau maes Timbersport.”
Dechreuodd Andrew hyfforddi Justine ar ôl gwaith ac yn dilyn oriau’n torri a llifo coed, aeth i 4 gwersyll hyfforddiant dwys ger Cabalva, ar bwys y Gelli.
10 wythnos yn ddiweddaraf, roedd Andrew o’r farn bod Justine y barod ar gyfer y Bencampwriaeth Timbersport Merched gyntaf ym Malvern, sir Gaerwrangon, ar faes sioe y Three Counties o flaen tyrfa enfawr.
Cadarnhawyd hyder ei rheolwr mewn gallu Justine wrth ddod yn ail - dim ond pedwar pwynt tu ôl yr enillydd.
Wrth obeithio mynd gam ymhellach yr wythnos hon wrth ennill aur yn y Sioe Frenhinol, dywedodd Justine “Rwy’n edrych ymlaen at gystadlu o flaen tyrfa’r Sioe. Bydd y safon yn uchel iawn ond rwyf wedi ymarfer yn galed gyda chymorth Andrew ac am fynd amdani.”
“Mae Timbersport yn cynnig cyfleoedd anhygoel i deithio’r byd a chystadlu yn erbyn y goreuon ym maes torri coed. Pwy a ŵyr, petawn heb gael gwaith gydag Openreach a chael Andrew fel cydweithiwr, efallai na fyddwn wedi cael y cyfleoedd hyn?”
Mae Openreach eisoes yn cynnal y tîm mwyaf o beirianwyr a gweithwyr cysylltiedig yn y Deyrnas Unedig ac wedi ymrwymo i adeiladu tîm mwy amrywiol a chynhwysol o fewn diwydiant sy’n draddodiadol wedi cynnwys mwyafrif llethol o weithwyr sy’n ddynion gwyn. Y llynedd, recriwtiodd y cwmni oddeutu 530 o fenywod ar gyfer rolau hyfforddi peirianwyr - dros ddwywaith yn fwy na’r flwyddyn flaenorol. Gwelwyd y cynnydd yn rhannol ar ôl cyflogi arbenigwyr iaith er trawsnewid hysbysebion a disgrifiadau swyddi, gan eu gwneud yn niwtral o ran cenedl.
Openreach yng Nghymru
Mae Openreach yn dilyn ei raglen i ddarparu band eang ffeibr cyflawn mewn 25 miliwn cartref a busnes yn y Deyrnas Unedig erbyn Rhagfyr 2026 ac eisoes wedi cyrraedd oddeutu 450,000 cartref a busnes yng Nghymru.
Wrth gyflogi 2,300 yng Nghymru, mae Openreach eisoes yn cynnal y tîm mwyaf o beirianwyr a gweithwyr cysylltiedig yn y wlad. Yn ddiweddar cyhoeddodd y cwmni ei fod am greu a llenwi oddeutu 250 swydd ychwanegol yng Nghymru yn ystod 2022 wrth barhau i fuddsoddi £biliynau mewn rhwydwaith band eang, pobl a hyfforddiant yn y Deyrnas Unedig.
Yng Nghymru mae dros 100,000 cartref a busnes eisoes wedi archebu gwasanaeth ffeibr cyflawn gan amryw gwmnïau gwasanaeth sy’n defnyddio rhwydwaith Openreach. Ond mae hynny hefyd yn golygu gallai miloedd o bobl eraill elwa o’r cysylltiadau band eang mwyaf cyflym a dibynadwy yn y byd, ond heb wneud hynny eto.
