Starting Your Career In The Renewables Industry
This Christmas, a record 40% of all power generated in Britain came from renewable sources – about three-quarters of it from wind turbines. This festive season record is a reminder that the future of energy production is going to be ever more in the renewables sector.
As the sector expands there is an increasingly large and varied choice of career paths to choose from, from electrical engineering jobs to sales jobs and everything in between. This means it pays to think ahead when starting off towards a career in the renewables sector.
Know the industry
The renewables industry is in a state of rapid development, and it pays to have an idea of what career direction you would like to be going in the long run. Business to business sales, battery storage and tidal lagoons are just a few of the areas likely to go through a boom in the years ahead. It is almost certain that as the sector continues to expand, different career paths will continue to diverge.
Down the line, as your career takes off, you will inevitably pick up specialist knowledge in your area that recruitment agencies and potential next employers will value (this is especially true of project management jobs). Until then, some studied knowledge of the area in which you are applying for positions gives you a definite edge as a candidate.
Read the news
2016 may go down in history as the year the tide turned in favour of renewables. The year’s big event actually happened in late 2015 – the COP21 conference in Paris. The agreement reached in Paris saw a robust international accord on how the world’s economies would move to curb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. It was in 2016, however, that China and the United States ratified the deal. Meanwhile, electric cars and energy storage technology have seen record investment.
Keeping an eye on politics and current affairs, especially in and between the world’s major economies, gives job-seekers an invaluable understanding of how the renewables sector will develop in the months ahead. For engineering jobs and project management jobs, keeping ahead of the trend is a great way to put your career in the fast lane.
Don’t forget the bottom line
The bottom line for candidates is the same, regardless of the specifics of the sector. Your strengths and capabilities as an individual will inevitably be what ultimately gets you the job. While industry knowledge is a plus, it is no replacement for a thorough understanding of the skills required for any given role, and of how you are the best candidate to fit those skills.
