It was cause for celebration at last night’s Young Professional Green Energy Awards as Lesley Cartwright, EIA project manager in the Planning team, scooped up the award in the Personal Improvement category. Lesley’s story is an inspiring one, as she only recently made the transition from the oil and gas industry to renewables.
After 13 years providing engineering design and operational support to oil and gas operators in the North Sea, Lesley was made redundant after an industry downturn. It was then that she made the brave decision to uproot her young family from Aberdeen to Kilmarnock to explore a new career in renewable energy. For her, this was something that she passionately believed would help to secure a green and sustainable future for her sons.
Photo: Scottish Renewables
Lesley has recently celebrated her one-year anniversary at Natural Power, and in that time, she has immersed herself in the industry, undertaking online webinars and attending conferences to grow her own knowledge and in turn to provide advice to her growing list of clients. She has managed two Section 36 applications, from scoping through to submission, and has received great feedback from the project team and clients alike. She is a testament to how skills can be readily transferred from one industry to another, bringing experience of strong communication and team management to deliver work under tight deadlines. She has also managed to achieve this within the setting of enforced home working and very little face to face time with her new colleagues.
Keith Burns, commercial director at Natural Power, said: “We are delighted that Lesley won this award, she is a great example of how people can transition across industries to help address the skills gap that the renewable industry is facing just now. We need to more than double the number of people employed in the sector in the next five years if we are to meet the UK government’s targets on generating clean energy from on and offshore wind. This ambition can only be achieved if we can attract people like Lesley with the passion and transferable skills gained in other industries.”
The annual awards ceremony is hosted by Scottish Renewables and was held in Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel. Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, Claire Mack, was pleased to announce that “the Young Professionals Green Energy Awards once again highlight the level of skill, innovation, and ambition of those who will be driving the future of our renewable energy sector and the energy transition. This level of passion and dedication is exactly what we need as we continue to work towards achieving our net-zero target. Congratulations to all the winners, you should be extremely proud of your achievements.”