I am fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to complete a four month work placement with the Scottish renewables company GreenPower International in the role of Assistant Project Manager. I have a HNC in Mechanical Engineering, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to gain some real project management experience building on experience from previous projects. This role is providing me with an invaluable opportunity to gain skills, training and real world experience that will be of great benefit to my career.
GreenPower International is a successful industry leading renewable energy company based in Alloa, Scotland. Established in 2000, the company has obtained consent for over 260MW of renewable energy capacity. With significant industry experience in Wind and Hydro, I feel that GreenPower is the perfect company to gain real world renewables experience from allowing me to do my part in keeping the world a green and healthy planet.
Unsure what to expect upon arrival with GreenPower, I have been amazed with how patient and helpful everyone is. Any queries I have are quickly answered, making it fast and easy to develop my understanding of the new (to me) systems, procedures and software. A personal goal for this placement is to come away more experienced and knowledgeable of the working environment than when I started. I feel this has already been achieved, and I’ve only completed half the placement.
Expecting to spend the first couple of weeks just shadowing colleagues it came as a surprise to be assigned my own personal tasks straight away. While these weren’t quite multi mega-watt schemes, they were important cogs in the big picture. I was given the tools and guidance required, but ultimately they were my own tasks to complete. This is a fantastic feeling, while there is pressure, there is the opportunity to work hard, prove my capability and improve my own understanding of the task.
GreenPower has greatly encouraged my development through training courses and software tutorial schemes. After completing a selection of tutorials on the ESRI ArcGIS (Geographical Information System) software, I have been given the chance to put what I’ve learned into action on real tasks. These are often more complicated than tutorial examples, allowing me to develop my knowledge and skill base. It’s a great method of testing what I have learned and cementing my understanding of the software.
One of my current tasks is the design of a universal signage plan that will be used across all current and future GreenPower project sites. The signage plan must include a threshold/welcome sign, an interpretation panel, safety information sign and a location sign. GreenPower aim to inform the general public about the benefit of all their renewable projects; the work done to protect the natural habitats and wildlife, each project’s environmental benefits and the community support funds in place. I am looking forward to completing this project and contributing my bit towards these fantastic projects.
Findley Forrest
