WORKING AT HEIGHTS - Wind Energy Network

SPONSORS OF Height & Confined Spaces WorkJennifer blazes a trailin offshore windMaersk Training in Newcastle iscelebrating after welcoming its firstfemale delegate through the doors – atrend the company hopes will starta new influx of women into the windindustry.Jennifer MenmuirJennifer MenmuirJennifer Menmuir, a Siemens graduatetrainee, aged 25 from Falkirk in CentralScotland was the first woman to completea two day specialist working at heightcourse with Maersk Training Newcastle,which equips delegates with the climbingand other essential skills needed to workon a wind turbine.Siemens Wind Power trainingschoolMaersk Training courses are part ofSiemens comprehensive wind powertraining programme delivered from itsdedicated facility in Newcastle. SiemensWind Power training school, completewith two fully loaded wind turbinenacelles, training towers and electrical andmechanical work stations trains over 300wind technicians a year to work on UKonshore and offshore wind farms.Not an unique situation forJenniferBeing the only woman on the course wasnot an unique situation for Jennifer – hermaster’s degree in Aero-Mechanicalengineering had fewer than 10% ofwomen on thecourse. Butentering a sectorwith relatively fewwomen did notdeter Jennifer,who was makinga clear careerchoice.She said: “Ichose to studyengineering atuniversity due tothe high demandfor engineersin industry andhence the careeropportunities thatwould follow. Ihad an affinityfor maths andscience relatedsubjects in school and I wanted to jointhe energy industry. The wind powersector is expanding at a massive rateso having the chance to be involved inthis technology at a relatively early stagewas ideal. Working both in the office andon-site up a turbine is an exciting andchallenging work environment.”Siemens graduate programmeIn January Jennifer completed theSiemens graduate programme and gaineda permanent position as a technicalmaintenance specialist in Newcastle withSiemens Renewables Service - a worldleading global wind service business.Jennifer continued: “It’s a fantastic jobwith a high level of responsibility fordeveloping methods to resolve technicalissues on turbines. I feel I have the skillsto contribute well to the team and I enjoythe working environment and the chanceto travel around the UK and Denmark.“I’m currently getting grounding in thetechnical aspects of the industry and mytraining at Maersk Training and SiemensWind Power Training School is invaluablein giving me confidence with some of thepractical job aspects – such as workingat height and safety training requiredfor working in wind turbines. I’mnow looking forward to getting startedin my new role and having greaterresponsibility in the industry. I hope Ican show other women that a career inthe wind industry has many opportunitiesand is an interesting and challengingoption.”Jennifer secured her role at Siemens inNewcastle as part of its much-prized twoyeargraduate programme, where shewill work in a number of the company’sbusinesses, including within SiemensEnergy sector.Opportunities for graduatesDave Milne, head of Service Technologyat Siemens Service Renewable said: “Weare delighted to be able to offer a widevariety of experiences and opportunitiesto graduates, such as Jennifer and alsoto all our employees. Siemens investsheavily in skills and training and iscommitted to diversity to get the best outof its people. We work closely with otherengineering employers and organisationsto address the engineering skills gap andgetting women interested in engineeringis part of this approach. Jennifer is fullyembracing the opportunities she has inworking within a growing and changingindustry. She has great potential and is agreat asset to the team.”Stuart Cameron, Managing Directorat Maersk Training in Newcastle, said:“Numerous studies show that womenmake an important contribution toany company’s bottom line and thoseorganisations with women in theboardroom and in senior positionsperform well. Currently the wind sectorlags behind in terms of the number ofwomen working in the industry and wewould like to see more females enteringthe wind job market.“The global wind industry is experiencingunprecedented growth and there aremany resulting skills shortages that needto be plugged. There is absolutely noreason why women can’t take advantageof these opportunities too. It was veryrefreshing to see Jennifer complete hertraining and I wish her all the very best inher wind career. Hopefully her story willinspire others and we would urge anyfemale interested in entering the windindustry to get in touch.”Maersk Trainingwww.maersktraining.com90www.windenergynetwork.co.uk