A group of Aberdeen students, met with employers including Global E&C, Stork and Ponticelli yesterday to share their experiences of the ECITB scholarship programme and explore employment pathways.
The latest cohort of Wind Turbine Technician scholars, who began their studies last month, joined an employer-panel event at North East Scotland College’s (NESCol) Clinterty Campus.
This is the second year of the Wind Turbine Technician scholarship programme at NESCol, which has been supported again by a grant from ETZ Ltd, the not-for-profit company tasked with spearheading the north-east’s energy transition ambition.
Matt Oates, Director of Operations at the ECITB, said: “Investment into training and retention of skilled engineers is vital to meet the growing need in Aberdeen and the North-east. This course is part of a wider programme we have to support Just Transition, as activities to achieve net zero by 2050 accelerate.
“Having ETZ Ltd recognise and support the scholarship programme has been invaluable, as has the support of NESCol in its delivery of the training.”
Students from the 2022 cohort, who are due to complete the programme in summer 2024, also attended the event and shared their experiences from the programme. They asked employers about available pathways into employment and shared how valuable they have found the employer site visits.
The scholarship contains a multi-disciplined curriculum, meaning scholars can be deployed across a wide range of engineering construction sectors when they complete the programme.
Created by the ECITB to address workforce shortages in key engineering roles, the initiative provides technical training to young engineers starting their careers in the energy sector. Nescol is one of eleven centres throughout the UK that has a 2023 cohort of ECITB scholars starting this Autumn.
National Energy Skills Accelerator Project Manager at Energy Transition Zone Ltd, Lauren Braidwood, said: “Providing individuals with the technical skills required to support the rapid growth of the offshore wind sector is absolutely vital if this region is to capitalise on this massive opportunity.
“ETZ Ltd is delighted to support ECITB in delivering programmes such as the Wind Technician Pathway, which will equip scholars with the necessary engineering knowledge. It is encouraging to see this progressing at pace.”
Find out more about the ECITB Scholarship here: www.ecitb.org.uk/ecitb-scholarships