UK Wind Week – Messages from Staff
It’s UK Wind Week and it’s a great opportunity to share the stories and successes of our wonderful industry. Here at OWC, we focus on helping clients realise their offshore wind projects with project development services, owner’s engineering and technical due diligence… offshore wind is all that we do! For our part, we thought we would just share some of those personal stories of why people would choose wind and, in this case, offshore wind as a career.
“I got into the offshore wind industry by accident – it was the best accident of my career. This innovative industry is undergoing rapid growth, technological developments with the output benefiting our planet. When you work in a business you are proud of, where the end result is helping save our world for future generations, you can’t help but be excited about going to work.”
Hannah Campbell, Senior Project Manager
“My whole work background naturally drove me to a career in offshore renewables; from offshore structures to offshore cable installation. Hence, I had a natural set of skills to offer to the emerging UK renewables industry in the late 1990s. Furthermore, I was increasingly becoming conscious of the need for the world to look closely for alternative energy sources. There was a lot of scepticism on what offshore wind could deliver in those early days, and it feels good now to have been part of the pioneering teams which helped drive the market forward. We now have an industry which has massively ambitious goals, is generally liked by the public and is delivering innovative engineering solutions whilst setting new standards and sustainability for the future. As I take a step back from operational management and focus on specialist consultancy work, it is a with a sense of pride and achievement that I see where the industry has progressed to.”
Ian Bonnon, Chairman and founder of OWC
“As a graduate stepping into the job market for the first time I gave myself the condition that whatever industry I went into, it would have to be leaving the world in a better place. Nowhere is this more true than the UK’s offshore wind industry which is currently booming and providing a realistic possibility of decarbonisation. Climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest problems that society has ever faced, and it is incredibly satisfying to be a part of the solution.”
Charlie Spicer, Graduate Geotechnical Engineer
“Since I was a kid I’ve had a passion for playing on, in and underwater! Many years ago now I had the opportunity to study in a fantastic offshore engineering department, and it was there that my love of the oceans and engineering collided. I haven’t looked back. I’m continuously reflecting on the carbon-intensive lifestyles much of my generation and those before accept as normal, and that has led to our climate crisis. What gets me out of bed in the morning? I feel a perpetual sense of responsibility to my family and to the planet. I can play my small part, and bring my engineering skills to an industry that has an exciting and significant ability to bring about positive change.”
James Rinkel, Principal Project Manager / Engineering