Apprenticeships have long been an important part of the UK economy. In England, the first apprenticeships can be traced back to medieval craft guilds in the middle ages. Today, there are nearly three-quarters of a million apprenticeships in England alone. Apprentices, who are aged 16 and over, combine practical, on-the-job training, with study.
One area that apprenticeships are increasingly focusing on is the green economy, as the UK − alongside other governments − attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Apprenticeships can play a major role in helping young people to acquire the skills needed for a career in green energy through training and education and in upskilling and reskilling workers.
The transition to a green economy is evident at Siemens Energy, with its UK team now employing more than 300 apprentices. Matthew Sweeney, 23, is one of the apprentices. Sweeney, who is based at the company’s Manchester site, works in transmission. As a high-voltage cable apprentice, he specialises in safely transferring clean power generated by offshore wind turbines onshore to the grid. He also works on interconnector projects and on onshore substations.
Sweeney, who joined as an apprentice when he was 22, initially wanted to be a pilot. But when the cost of achieving a pilot’s licence skyrocketed, he changed careers to become an electrical engineering apprentice.
He’s glad he made the switch. “It’s incredibly rewarding,” he says. “It’s the lasting impact [these projects] are going to have.” Sweeney enjoys the variety of work, which includes engineering, problem solving and working at the forefront of renewable energy. “There’s no day the same as the next. I’m currently working on a renewable energy project, the Inch Cape offshore windfarm in Scotland, using our technology to get the power generated offshore, onshore and on to the grid,” he says.
As part of his apprenticeship, Sweeney is attending the University of Bolton part-time, studying for a BA (hons) degree in electrical and electronic engineering. “At the end of the course, I know that not only am I going to have a degree, I’m also going to have nearly five years’ experience working in this industry,” he says. “I think that’s the biggest bonus.”
Lucy Good, 20, from Hull, is an apprentice offshore wind technician at Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy’s wind subsidiary. Currently in her third year, as part of her apprenticeship, Good studied at the Humber Energy Skills Training Academy. At the end of her first year, she qualified as a fully trained electrician. In the second year of her apprenticeship, Good completed helicopter training and her GWOs (global wind organisation) qualifications in safety and offshore training.
So far, Good’s apprenticeship has involved travelling to France, Denmark, Germany and Scotland, to see the offshore wind projects and technologies first-hand. As an offshore technician, Good helps maintain offshore wind turbines and most recently has been working on the Moray West offshore windfarm, off the coast of Scotland. Good works 12-hour shifts – two weeks on, two weeks off – on a boat. “Being out at sea is a unique experience,” says Good, who adds that with about 60 people working on a boat, soft skills, such as being likeable, adaptable, and hardworking, are as important as technical skills such as in mechanics and engineering.
“You’ve got to be willing to hear other people’s ideas, because there’s all sorts of people out there, with different experience and skills,” she says. “You’ve definitely got to be hard working and patient.”
She recommends apprenticeships for young people, especially ones that teach you transferable skills. “It’s so exciting,” she says. “I’m a trained electrician, so I can work anywhere.”
Darren Davidson is proof of how far apprentices can advance. He began his career, aged 16, as an apprentice engineer at Parsons in Newcastle, which became part of Siemens Energy. He is now vice president for the UK and Ireland at Siemens Energy.
Davidson’s father ran the machine shop at the Shields Road site in Newcastle, where he worked his entire career. And in a neat cycle of life, Davidson’s current office overlooks the workshops where he trained in the late 1980s. “I was on a shop-floor apprenticeship programme, which I remember very, very fondly,” he says. “There’s quite a few people still in the business today who I worked with during my apprenticeship.”
After graduating as a mechanical engineer from Northumbria University, Davidson moved into project management in power plant construction in the UK. His 35-year career has seen him work across the globe including in Switzerland, Canada and the Middle East, in a variety of energy sector roles, from generation to wind power services.
An apprenticeship is an “exceptional grounding” for learning, says Davidson. “It makes me so proud to be able to play a part in enabling career paths like these in our business, and watch those apprentices excel,” he says. “When I was 16, I never thought I’d lead an organisation of 6,000-plus people in the UK and Ireland.”
Apprenticeships are an important part of Siemens Energy, he adds, helping the company grow skills, nurture talent and replace workers when they retire. Davidson himself is a good example. “I’ve had the opportunity to work on both traditional and renewable projects and, of course, there are always things to learn, but the core skills, the curiosity and the passion you have, are certainly transferrable,” he says.
“I honestly believe that there’s never been a more exciting time to work in the energy industry,” Davidson says. “We have apprentices and graduates that are training to be offshore technicians, working on our substation and transmission technologies, training on our hydrogen apprenticeship scheme, helping to deliver zero emission power projects, and working as part of the teams building our offshore wind turbine blades at our manufacturing facility in Hull. The energy transition presents great opportunities and exciting jobs.”
