An Aberdeen businesswoman has won the 2022 TechX ‘Mentor of the Year’ award in recognition of her contribution to the Net Zero Technology Centre’s TechX Clean Energy Accelerator.
Donna McWilliams, Managing Director of IT change management and learning specialist, Electra Learning, was presented with the award after being nominated by her mentee company, JET Engineering System Solutions.
Electra, which was established in 1997 has offices in Aberdeen, Calgary and Houston, provides an end-to-end IT change service, from consultancy and training to eLearning development and Learning Management System hosting.
Mrs McWilliams joined the business in 2009, becoming its Managing Director four years later.
JET Engineering, which provides affordable, industry-leading 5G hardware and software solutions for challenging environments, formed part of the fourth TechX cohort, completing a 15-week intensive training and development programme in June, along with 11 other start-up businesses.
Commenting on why the company chose to nominate Mrs McWilliam, Vicky Naylor, Bids and Research Manager, JET Engineering, said: “Donna made a significant difference to the way in which we operate and was instrumental in helping us develop sustainable and effective working practices throughout the duration of the TechX programme.
“She always made herself available to us and dedicated many hours of her time over and above what was expected of her to help us and make sure we were always supported.
“What she shared with us will stay with the whole team as we scale and grow. We cannot thank her enough for all her help.”
Commenting on her award, Mrs McWilliams said: “Working with the team at JET Engineering has been an absolute pleasure.
“I’ve loved seeing the Vicky grow and develop over the weeks and months and have really enjoyed working with such a dynamic and ambitious group of people.
“It has been an absolute privilege to be able to share my experience and give back something and I look forward to seeing Jet Engineering go from strength to strength.”
Mark Anderson, TechX Director at the Net Zero Technology Centre, added: “Our TechX Clean Energy Accelerator programme is aimed at start-ups with significant potential to support the transition to an affordable net zero energy industry. JET Engineering is a great example of a company paving the way in this space, helping the energy industry transition to net zero at pace.
“Much of our programme’s success comes down to the expertise and dedication brought by our diverse pool of mentors; we’re incredibly grateful that Donna was involved.
“She has proven to be a huge asset to both Jet Engineering and to the TechX Clean Energy programme. On behalf of the TechX team, I would like to offer our congratulations to Donna on winning the award, which was well deserved.”
An expert in its field, Electra has a team of IBM Maximo and Microsoft 365 specialist trainers and coaches, as well as a number of dedicated media and eLearning developers.
The business works across several industries including oil and gas, renewables, manufacturing, and transportation and employs 30 staff globally.
More information about the business can be found at www.electralearning.com