Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2021 is a time to share the value apprenticeships can bring to individuals, employers and the economy. The theme for 2021is Business Backing Talent, showcasing the great things that happen when employers back talent through apprenticeships.

At Add Energy we have found that supporting apprentices through their studies has brought a wealth of benefits to both our team of apprentices and our company, from upskilling our people through formal learning and development opportunities to improving the productivity of our business functions and thus the quality of our services to our clients.

As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, our team of Add Energy apprentices have shared their experiences as well as the benefits of learning while you work.

As a result of COVID-19, many of us have recently transitioned to “working from home”. An undoubtedly challenging shift for many office workers, and even more so for parents who are juggling workload with childcare and education.

It’s easy to get frustrated and feel completely exhausted and worn out working from home with children. In this blog, some of our “working mums” share their top tips on how to balance their workload and their children’s needs to achieve a productive, healthy and stress-less working environment at home.  

Trent Cooper joined Add Energy’s Houston team in August 2019 as a Junior Engineer. Six months into his role, he reflects back on his experiences so far, and shares insights into what life is like as a Junior Engineer in the energy industry... 

As 2019 is coming to an end, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the past 12 months and look towards the new year ahead of us. 

Work experience provides significant benefits for individuals both during full time education, and when it comes to securing employment. In my opinion, work experience can: 

• Broaden your skill set 
• Unlock opportunities 
• Enable you to understand what it is you really want to do 
• Improve your grades 
• Establish new relationships 
• Reduce the learning curve associated with your first job

In the current climate, work experience can be difficult to obtain, not only is the market more competitive, but not all companies are receptive to hosting work experience placements, which reduces opportunities for students. 

The oil and gas industry can be an extremely challenging environment for ambitious woman. Not only is there an obvious gender imbalance, but women also struggle with the “stay at home mum” dilemma which is fuelled by stigma and the costs of child care.

At Add Energy, Natalie MacRae has undergone extreme career growth and as a working mum at the age of 27, has been appointed as the Business Development Manager, and member of the leadership team for Add Energy’s Aberdeen office. 

The world of engineering can often be a challenging and competitive, yet very rewarding environment. In order to progress your career, you must be resilient, willing to get your hands dirty and open to exploring new opportunities.

Here at Add Energy, Chris Laing has recently gone through a transition from being a Graduate Engineer to a Junior Consultant over a period of 4 years.

In this interview, Chris shares his experience and provides helpful tips for graduate engineers looking to progress and fast track their career. Read more below:

What made you want to get into the energy industry?

“What drew me to engineering was solving problems.

To celebrate Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2019, we are taking a look back with one of our employees, Rianne Gorman, who recently completed her apprenticeship in Digital Application Support and is now a fully-fledged and qualified member of the team!

Here is what she had to say about her whole apprenticeship experience: 

I left secondary education in 2017 to study at University. Quickly realising that University was not right for me, I then started to look for an opportunity to enter the work place where I could continue my learning and gain valuable on the job experience. When my old school hosted a careers fayre in January, I thought it was a good opportunity to try and find work. I went along and met Cammach Recruitment. They chatted to me about what I wanted to do and took my CV – they were in touch quite a bit over the next few weeks, updating me on opportunities they thought I would be interested in. One of their clients Add Energy, who had an opportunity for a Digital Application Support apprenticeship, invited me to interview and they offered me the apprenticeship straight afterwards!

We recently took some of our engineering team to help the children of Chapel of Garioch primary school build their electric car for them to race in the annual Greenpower race at the Grampian Transport Museum.

With 2018 now behind us, and the new year just beginning, we asked Peter Adam, Add Energy’s Executive Vice President, to share insights into his last 12 months in business, as well as his predictions and advice for the energy industry in 2019.