Powering Opportunities: Building skills for the future

Growing up, my dad was always messing about with cars and bikes. We lived somewhere quite rural, with diggers and other machinery around us, and taking things to somebody else to repair wasn’t always an option. We tended to fix our own equipment, so I developed a mentality of trying to understand how things work and seeing whether I could fix them myself.

I also worked in a local bike shop and, at school, I preferred subjects such as maths and physics. I was always more interested in problem-solving, so pursuing a practical and technical career felt like the right route for me.

I applied for the RWE wind turbine technician apprenticeship mainly because it was local. As part of the application process, I attended an assessment day with other people who were applying for apprenticeships. We met general managers from different sites, heard more about the company, took part in team-building activities and completed an interview.

After attending the assessment day, I found that I really liked the company and thought it felt very welcoming. RWE was keen to bring in people at the beginning of their careers, allowing them to start as apprentices and learn the company’s ways of working from the outset.

I liked the idea of starting at the bottom and working my way up. It also felt as though there would be opportunities to progress into other positions over time, potentially including management roles further down the line.

During the third year of my apprenticeship, I was working towards becoming a competent wind turbine technician. I would follow instructions, ask questions about the job, shadow other technicians and help with the basic tasks.

Apprentices aren’t expected to know everything when they begin. It’s more about being keen, showing an interest, keeping the work area tidy and generally being ready to give people a helping hand.

On a normal day, we would start with a morning briefing. Within around 15 minutes, the technicians would be out of the office and on the boat. The work could involve both reactive maintenance, responding to issues that had arisen, and planned maintenance.

Visiting a turbine for the first time was definitely one of the highlights. I started the apprenticeship in September and I think my first offshore trip was around Christmas. I remember getting on the boat and finding it slightly intimidating because everybody else knew what was going on, but everyone was really helpful.

Another major highlight was becoming a competent technician. That was a significant milestone and showed how far I had progressed since beginning the apprenticeship.

I was also proud to finish my college work early. I pushed myself to get everything completed and managed to finish around a third of the way through my third year.

Time management and organisation are probably two of the biggest skills I’ve developed. I would say they’re just as important as the technical skills I’ve learnt.

When you’re working inside a turbine, the space can be quite tight, so you need to be organised and tidy. You also need to understand what is happening around you and have a clear idea of what you’re doing. Developing those habits has been an important part of becoming a technician.

For now, I’m working towards becoming an authorised technician. That would mean leading a team on the turbine and taking control of that turbine, so it’s my main short-term goal.

I’m particularly interested in the technical side of the role. If I were to progress beyond becoming an authorised technician, I would probably aim to become a lead technician.

RWE has something called a no-blame culture. Lots of organisations might say that, but here it genuinely feels as though there is no blame. I’ve made mistakes and learnt from them, but nobody has ever pointed fingers.

I also think the wages, overtime rates, pension and wider company benefits are good. These include private healthcare, and I’ve found the benefits easy to access.

I would advise people to speak to as many people as possible who already work in the industry. It can be difficult to know what the job will actually be like before you’ve done it, particularly because not just anyone can go onto a wind turbine and experience the working environment for themselves.

Try to find out as much information as you can so that you have a better understanding of the role. Doing your research also demonstrates to employers that you’re genuinely interested and keen to learn.

Doing the basics well goes a long way too. Don’t try too hard to be the cleverest person. Just be keen, work hard, turn up and do what you say you’re going to do.

Where I’m from, job opportunities can be quite limited, particularly in this sector. When I was looking for jobs, I would consider companies such as National Grid or ScottishPower, but relevant opportunities were quite rare.

RWE takes on quite large numbers of apprentices each year, which gives young people in the area confidence that these careers are available to them. The college was also local, in Rhyl, and took me around an hour to reach, which was manageable. RWE paid for my fuel, which was a massive help, and we also received a lunch allowance. I felt properly looked after in that sense.

Another benefit is that apprentices aren’t limited to working on offshore turbines in North Wales. RWE is keen to give people opportunities to work in different locations. Even if you’re from North Wales, you can train at a local college and then choose to work elsewhere without necessarily having to relocate. For example, if you work off the east coast, you could be away on a boat for two weeks and then return home for two weeks, meaning you can continue living locally while building your career in another part of the country.