Four new apprentices aged between 17 and 18 years old have started their renewable careers joining RWE’s three year offshore wind apprentice programme. They will be supporting the company's largest offshore wind project in development, 1.4 gigawatt Sofia Offshore Wind Farm situated off the North East coast.

The trainee wind turbine technicians will be based at RWE’s new Grimsby Hub at the Port of Grimsby and complete their educational studies at our national apprenticeship hub at Coleg Llandrillo in Wales. The study phase of their training will be complete in time for them to fully support the operational phase of the Sofia project which is due to commence in 2025.

The programme lasts three years, providing trainees with an in-depth understanding of the technical and practical skills required to work in the power and energy industry. It is delivered with a mixture of both on operational site with hands on learning, and at educational/college settings.

The four recruits are from the local area and have a passion for engineering and the renewable energy industry, they explain why they developed their interest in a renewable energy career.

Munro Pearson, “My interest in becoming a Wind Turbine Technician started through GCSE science where I learned about renewable energy and basic electrical and mechanical processes. I love the idea of being part of a growing green industry in my local area which shows great opportunities for when I finish my apprenticeship.”

Alisha Doughty commented on her new role, “For me personally being part of a company working towards keeping our world a green clean environment is so rewarding. I spent five years studying at Humberston Academy where I took on subjects such as geography and triple science which further sparked my interest in renewables.”

Madeleine Warburton commented, “Both of my parents were engineers, and that helped nurture my interest in engineering from a young age. I have wanted to be a technician since year 10 and was encouraged through GCSE and A level engineering, my interest grew with coursework that was based on wind turbines.”

Preston Hart explained what sparked his interest, “From a young age I’ve looked up at turbines and always wondered how they work and what they did. I would never have imagined that I would be working on one. I’ve always loved nature and as I’ve gotten older have realised wind turbines and green energy in general work towards creating a healthy planet. This is the main reason I want to be involved in wind turbines.”

The apprentices will join a team of 20 new offshore wind turbine technicians recently appointed and joining the development team over the coming months to work for one of the UK’s leading energy companies on one of the world’s largest single offshore wind projects, sited on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea.

Sofia’s onshore construction has been underway in Teesside since June 2021, to construct the project’s onshore converter station and cable corridor. Offshore construction recently started installing subsea cable infrastructure from the UK’s north east coast to the wind farm site on Dogger Bank, in the central North Sea. The laying of the first sections of export cable marks the start of a three year offshore construction phase.

Sofia Project Director RWE’s Matthew Swanwick said: “Welcoming our first apprentices to the Sofia Offshore wind farm is a huge milestone in the project. Living close to Grimsby, as part of our growing team operating the windfarm based in our Grimsby hub, I am sure they will make a valuable contribution to the communities we operate within. Sofia will make a significant contribution towards the country’s net zero targets, and be capable of generating enough clean electricity equivalent to meeting the needs of over 1.2 million typical UK homes.”

Pictures of our apprentices for media use (credit: RWE) are available at the RWE Media Centre.