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Engineering the Next Generation of Talent

THE drive towards Net Zero has been accelerated after the general election returned a Labour government pledging to invest in clean energy and make the UK a global centre for the renewables industry.

With a plan to create 650,000 jobs by 2030 with the establishment of a Great British Energy organisation to co-invest in clean energy projects, there’s no doubting the scale of the new government’s ambition.

But while that sounds great in theory, how will it work in practice?

As well as investment, one of the crucial components to make this vision a reality is getting the right people with the right skills to work in the green energy sector.

And this means getting people motivated, trained and inspired to make their mark.

Education, skills and training are crucial to the success of the drive towards Net Zero, both in terms of getting people job-ready now and in making sure others want to follow in their footsteps.

One of the organisations at the vanguard of this process is Middlesbrough College Group.

The Group, which includes the TTE Technical and Northern Skills divisions, is the largest provider of engineering training for school leavers in the country with a well-deserved reputation for producing high quality, motivated young engineers.

From September 2024, Middlesbrough College Group will be welcoming students to its brand new £12m training centre on the College’s Middlehaven campus.

This state-of-the-art teaching facility will be operated by leading workforce training provider TTE Technical, will train over 300 full-time students, 300 apprentices and 500 adults each year.

Subject specialisms at the site will include Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Instrumentation, Process, Wind Turbine, and Laboratory courses.

Crucially, the new centre will also allow to College to expand further into sectors such as clean, green and renewable energy, retrofit, zero carbon and offshore high voltage.

As a designated STEM Specialist College, Middlesbrough College works closely alongside employers to ensure the courses it provides are linked to what is needed in industry, something illustrated with its latest initiative in the green energy sector.

In July 2024, the College announced a landmark partnership with energy giant bp to establish a New Energy Apprenticeship Scheme.

The programme focuses on training operations technicians specifically for roles within bp’s key regional projects – Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) – with the skills needed to drive the region's low-carbon future.

Teesside is rapidly transforming into a leading hub for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies. The tailored programme will equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge for careers in the sector.

Opportunities for work placements, on-the-job training and mentorship programmes within bp’s Teesside operations will be explored to provide College students with practical experience.

The partnership represents a major commitment to empowering the next generation of energy professionals and driving Teesside’s low-carbon transformation.

Middlesbrough College Group has also launched a pioneering scholarship scheme designed to help nurture the engineers of the future.

The Group’s TTE Engineering Scholarship Programme aims to develop and attract high performing young people into engineering.

Under the scheme, which starts in September 2024, 40 of the Group’s top performing Level 3 engineering students will be matched with participating employers, get the chance to go on a work placement with their matched company and, at the end of the year, be interviewed for suitable employment or apprenticeship opportunities there.

The chosen students will also receive £50 a week – jointly funded by the College and by their matched employer – as part of their scholarship as well as accessing mentoring and other support from their matched employer.

Depending on the companies who sign up, the scholarship programme will operate right across the College’s engineering disciplines including electrical and electronic engineering, instrumentation and control engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering and wind turbine engineering.

Companies already signed up to the programme include the likes of chemicals giant Johnson Matthey, Saltburn-based heavy machining specialist Tees Components and gas turbine company Paralloy.

Skills development is also central to one of the UK’s largest low carbon and Net Zero projects, Teesworks.

Located on the south bank of the River Tees, Teesworks is a giant 2,500-acre development which will be home to leading companies operating in the renewable energy and low carbon sectors, including bp and SeAH Wind.

One of the key drivers behind the project is to nurture and embed the skills needed for the industries of tomorrow and create a workforce which is second to none.

Central to this is the Teesworks Skills Academy which links jobseekers, employment hubs, and skills providers, all focused to create a world-class workforce for the future which is equipped with the expertise that businesses at the Teesworks site will need to grow and succeed.

For businesses, the Academy can help at every stage, from supporting companies in accessing available funding sources through providing training to mapping future skills needs.

The Teesworks Skills Academy partners collectively offer more than 300 training courses which are aligned with the current Teesworks scope of works – ranging from one day essential ‘Licence to Operate’ courses to degree level programmes, HNCs, HNDs, and apprenticeships ranging from Level 1 through to Level 4 and 5 higher apprenticeships.

For individuals, the Academy is working to raise awareness of career opportunities at Teesworks as well as informing and inspiring the next generation via outreach work in schools and colleges.

“Teesworks Skills Academy is here to develop and build on what is already out there and available so that a young person currently at school can stay within the Tees Valley and have a fantastic, fulfilling career right here,” explained Neil Young, Teesworks Skills Academy Development Manager.

“Teesworks is giving them this huge opportunity – ‘stay local, go far’ – with excellent employment prospects right on their doorstep.”

The Skills Academy is starting this process at an early age.

Neil explained: “We’re already doing school visits and we want to put in place a schools programme in the local area so young people are aware of Teesworks and all these industries on their doorstep at the earliest possible stage.

“I think it’s important to reach out to young children as early as 8-years-old with the vast career options coming to Teesworks and making these sessions fun and enjoyable.”

At Cool Blue, we are proud to be working with both Middlesbrough College Group and Teesworks to spread the word about the fantastic work which they are doing and the bright future for the next generation.

While challenges remain in the transition to cleaner, greener energy – most notably how to fund the changes which need to be made to achieve the switch – organisations such as the College and Teesworks Skills Academy are helping to ensure that having the right people with the right skills will not be one of the things holding us back.