Students across East Anglia received their GCSE results yesterday (August 24), and many will now be moving on to their A-levels.
However, for those looking to further their education in different ways, there are numerous opportunities in the offshore wind industry – from scholarships and apprenticeships through to work experience and full-time employment.
These opportunities – that span everything from engineering to ecology – are available for people at any stage of their career, no matter their age or background.
Lisa Western is consent compliance manager for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm.
She joined SPR in 2019 when it was crewing up the operations and maintenance team for East Anglia ONE.
“When first joining SPR I took on an administrative role as I wanted to find my feet and discover what opportunities would be available to me in the future,” said Lisa.
“At that time, I was in the midst of studying Combined STEM with the Open University and was about to graduate after a seven-year period,” she added.
“Once I’d graduated and gained enough background knowledge about SPR and the East Anglia ONE project, I made contact with the departments that delivered project support functions in line with my STEM studies.
“I was fully supported by SPR with this transition and attended project management training and other role-specific training courses.”
Lee Pattison is the offshore substation manager for two of ScottishPower Renewables’ (SPR) East Anglia Hub wind farms. His role focuses on getting the green electricity produced by the wind farms into homes and businesses – or ‘from power to plug’.
Lee joined SPR in March 2022, having previously worked for local companies in the oil and gas sector. Prior to that, he served for nine years in the RAF, working as an aircraft avionics technician.
He believes that his time in the military prepared him well for his current role in renewables.
“In my experience, I do feel any military role teaches people to be organised, punctual and self-disciplined as an individual, which are excellent characteristics to apply to any civilian or military job,” said Lee.
“Specific to aircraft maintenance, this is a very process-driven environment, which is something I have always tried to apply to my career offshore in project management since leaving the RAF.”
Lee is currently focused on seeing SPR’s East Anglia ONE North and East Anglia TWO wind farms through to operation. Beyond that, he will look to apply his learnings to other projects in SPR’s portfolio – with the company’s support.
“SPR sets annual goals to target personal development, and this includes offering a diverse selection of training courses,” he said. “Since beginning my role with SPR, I have found them to be an excellent company to work for.”
SPR has also shaped the careers of Esmee Thornton, Malachi Lawson and Josh Pitcher, all of whom are now at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
Esmee is deputy site manager for East Anglia ONE and benefitted from SPR’s scholarship programme, which saw the firm fund her master’s in Energy Engineering at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
“Through the scholarship and the university, I made connections with the local industry as the course had good links with the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR),” said Esmee. “This allowed me to get a good understanding of the opportunities that were available to me.”
Malachi and Josh are among the cohort of apprentices that Esmee recently recruited at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
Malachi previously enjoyed a period of work experience with SPR’s East Anglia ONE team. Much of his time was spent organising the equipment and kit for technicians working on the offshore turbines or substation and preparing it to load on to crew transfer vessels.
“All the employees at SPR were so friendly and so keen to give me information about the company and the job they do on a day-to-day basis,” said Malachi.
“The highlights for me were carrying out communications with vessels, helping out in the morning and seeing all the technicians leave, and generally just getting a feel for the industry and what it's about.”
Josh’s interest in renewables is informed by his father, who worked in the wind industry for 14 years.
“I grew up hearing about his days at work, which got me very interested, and I wanted to be a part of it from a young age,” said Josh.
“Whilst I was doing my work experience at SPR, I was taught lots of helpful information, especially about East Anglia ONE and how the wind farm works,” he added.
“I was able to fully prepare and feel confident for each step towards getting the apprenticeship at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.”
For more information about careers at ScottishPower Renewables, please visit scottishpower.com/pages/careers
This article is part of the EADT's Clean & Green campaign, which aims to promote our region as the biggest in the UK and Europe for all forms of renewable energy.
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