Renewables Careers

Juliet Davenport is founder and Chief Executive of Good Energy, the UK’s only dedicated 100% renewable electricity supplier.  In this article Juliet kindly shares her thoughts and experience on Green job hunting with us, and advises you on how to develop a career in Renewable Energy.

Since Good Energy was founded 10 years ago it has effected real change in the energy market. It now supplies energy to more than 28,000 homes and businesses across the UK, sourcing its electricity from a community of more than 12,000 independent renewable generators, all harnessing natural power from the wind, water, sun or through sustainable biogeneration. Good Energy wants to change the way energy is made in this country and connect people with where it comes from – so they will value it more and use it less. Its vision is a 100% renewable future for the UK by 2050.

Juliet has won several accolades for her work, including the PEA Business Award CEO of the year 2012, First Women Award (Retail and Consumer) 2011 and PLUS Markets CEO of the year 2009 and 2010. Good Energy has won a Sunday Times Best Green Company Award twice, an Observer Ethical Award and was named West of England Business of the Year 2009.  For more information on Good Energy Click Here

So if you have burning questions like What degree do I need for a career in Renewable Energy? or Can I use social media to get a job in Green Power? then read on for some real inside information on one of the UKs most influential CEOs in the Green Energy sector.

Whether it’s rising energy prices, the Feed-in Tariff or Green Deal, the energy sector keeps hitting the headlines. In the current economic climate, the renewable energy sector is one area of the economy that continues to grow, with the essential shift to a low-carbon economy promising more job creation. These are just some of the reasons why more people are considering a career in renewables.

The great news is that there are some fantastic opportunities in the green power sector, but it is competitive. A good place to start is by carefully researching the area you are interested in because of the huge range within the field – from wind farm engineering to policy campaigning. There are many companies and organisations in the sector, all with a slightly different culture. Increasingly, businesses that have not traditionally been part of the renewable energy sector are taking advantage of the opportunities it offers and entering the market too.

The team at Good Energy come from varied backgrounds, with diverse degrees, specialities and skills. That reflects our corporate culture: we are much more than just a 100% renewable electricity supplier: we campaign, collaborate and innovate, and this broad range is reflected in the people who work for us. However there are some qualities that everyone shares – in particular enthusiasm, passion and being motivated by the contribution we’re making to growing the green energy market and reducing the UK’s carbon emissions. Being able to demonstrate your passion for the sector is essential.

I’m often asked which degree you need for a career in renewables, but I think every subject can and should contribute to sustainability – it’s not just for geographers or environmental scientists. Having said that, science degrees are always a plus, because there are so many skills from a science background that transfer to business, including analysis, numeracy and ability to consider risk.  It’s always great to see that someone has either continued to a higher level than a BSc or BA, or completed a different degree, because it shows a thirst for knowledge and understanding.  In terms of relevance of the degree, it is important, but not critical. More important is that the person is open minded and can communicate well.

Another tip would be to get active on social media as networking is not only a great way to learn more about renewables and keep up to date, but also to listen to the voices in the industry and hear about any opportunities. Linked In and Twitter are good tools for this. Blogs are also great source of information and give a flavour of what organisations are all about. This kind of insight can be helpful when approaching companies and is useful for interviews too.  Attending events and lectures and following up with the people you meet can also be an effective approach.  Another tip is that if you don’t ask you don’t get – be innovative and proactive in your job search; don’t wait for the dream job to simply appear.

Finally, it’s worth keeping an eye on new legislation as this can open up new opportunities, for example the Green Deal will need skilled people to make it happen.  There’s no doubt that it’s an exciting and dynamic time to be involved in this fast-moving industry. The government has committed to producing 15% of the UK’s energy from renewable resources by 2020. It won’t be easy, but to do it we need intelligent, innovative and dedicated individuals working in the renewables sector.

Juliet Davenport

Great advice from Juliet here and if you are looking for a job in Renewables in Wind, Wave, Tidal, Solar, Biomass or Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, you can register right here on RenewablesCareers.com free of charge for daily email alerts for jobs that might interest you.  It takes just a few seconds and might be the start of something Green!  And why not upload your CV now so that recruiters searching our database can find you and contact you directly.  Again all Free of Charge!

And for more CV, interview and careers advice for jobs in Renewables visit our careers pages here now

I attended the Scottish Renewables largest ever Offshore Wind and Supply Chain conference in Aberdeen last week, which had over 700 delegates and over 50 exhibitors, and an impressive line-up of speakers who are all working hard towards making the Scottish Governments Routemap for Renewable Energy a reality by 2020.

One of the speakers was Peter Breslin, Managing Director of Steel Engineering, who really engaged the audience with his common sense approach of addressing the renewable energy skills gap, by taking action right on his own doorstep. Peter’s talk was a breath of fresh air and this is a model that surely could be upheld by others.

Here’s how one Scottish company has achieved what many others are still talking about:

TRESTA (The Renewable Energy Skills Training Academy)
TRESTA was established by Steel Engineering Limited (SEL) in September 2011 with a vision of providing an Academy capable of delivering high quality; industry recognised training to service the renewable energy sector. The vision was originally borne from SEL’s projected workforce needs however the realisation that the whole of the renewables sector was under resourced soon became clear as a result of this analysis. Further investigations showed that there was no clear Career Pathway for people working and training in the renewables sector with a great deal of confusion and cross over between differing skill sets. Consequently TRESTA was created.
Since September 2011 the Project’s Consultant Mary McLuskey has secured funding from Scottish Enterprise, Renfrewshire Council, Job Centre Plus and the support of many other organisations to get the concept moving. With the determined support of SEL’s Managing Director, Peter Breslin, TRESTA is now a reality with the newly fitted facility being formally opened in April 2012.
TRESTA will initially provide training for a range of individuals. The first cohort of 7 Modern Apprentices has started work with SEL in January, with 1 Graduate Trainee starting in March 2012. These groups represent the first of many Graduate and MA trainees for TRESTA. However, to ensure that there is a balance of age ranges and skill levels across the range of TRESTA trainees a wide spectrum of training opportunities are being developed. Working with Job Centre Plus a six week programme for unemployed individuals has been created. This programme offers introduction to the skills required across a range of job types found in the renewables sector, skill tests to help identify the best career path for each individual and alongside job seeking skills each person will be interviewed for a full time job within TRESTA. Job offers will be made to those individuals who excel during their initial training and each person will be provided with a career pathway through their new job to ensure they have every opportunity to develop high value, sustainable and transferable skills. For those individuals who are not successful TRESTA will provide the opportunity to meet with a local Recruitment Agency who will help find alternative routes to employment.
TRESTA’s training will encompass stand along, industry recognised courses to allow people to capitalise on their current skills and to add a new dimension to their CV. For these specialist courses certification will be provided by a range of Awarding Bodies recognised by the industry. A number of conversion course are being developed as are new qualifications that are being mapped out to capture cutting edge technologies and manufacturing practices. TRESTA is working in partnership with Colleges and a range of Industry partners to ensure that whatever training and development is delivered it is driven by Industry needs and all provision is firmly rooted in the qualifications structure with appropriate certification. TRESTA trainees aim to set the industry standard for the renewables sector.

If you are looking for a new job in Renewable Energy, you can browse hundreds of jobs on our site right now!  Or why not register now for daily updates of suitable vacancies sent direct to your email inbox?  And its all free!  Register for Jobs by Email by clicking here now and let your next job find you!

For more information on Tresta click here:

The government today lost its attempt to overturn the decision that its reduction, and more specifically the speed of the implementation of the revised Feed In Tariff (FIT) for solar schemes in December 2011, was ruled unlawful.

Back in April 2010 the government introduced the FIT scheme to encourage people to use low carbon technologies to produce electricity, and to reward them by paying a tariff for electricity put back into the grid.  These technologies included wind, biomass and solar PV (photovoltaic).

Continue reading “Government Loses its Solar FIT Scheme Appeal” »