First ever wind turbine technician apprenticeship completed with Ørsted

Ahead of #GreenSkillsWeek2021 (5th-9th Apr), leading renewable energy company @Orsted has congratulated the first apprentice to complete a Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician (MOET) Wind Turbine qualification.

David Davidson, now a fully qualified wind turbine technician working at Racebank offshore wind farm, started his apprenticeship with Ørsted during their first intake in 2017.

Working alongside education providers, Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education and Furness College in Barrow, the company has followed the wind turbine technician pathway of the MOET qualification since 2017 when it recruited for its inaugural apprenticeship scheme in the UK.

The programme is now well established and has seen a total of 33 apprentices join the company, based across sites in Grimsby and Barrow.

Having today been awarded a distinction in his final assessment, David reflected on his time during the programme saying:

“Now I have completed my apprenticeship at Ørsted I have hit the ground running with my future career path. I could not be more grateful for the opportunities I have been given. I will continue to recommend the program to anyone who wants to join this expanding industry.”

The final apprenticeship assessment was conducted by independent awarding body, the Energy & Utilities Independent Assessment Service (EUIAS), based in the West Midlands.

Bernie Zakary, Head of the EUIAS, said,

“We were delighted to be appointed as the end-point assessment organisation for the first ever wind turbine technician apprentice. The assessment provided several challenges, not least that the apprentice was in the North Sea on a 120m high wind turbine, the assessor was on shore and the assessment was live streamed. All of our assessments are carried out to the highest standard and this was no exception. Congratulations to David and we look forward to carrying out many more assessments in the future.”

Ørsted has once again opened up applications for their next intake of apprentices. With a minimum age limit of 16 for applicants, there’s no maximum age for people to apply.