Making the move from Oil & Gas to Offshore Wind

Ramsay, a Senior Project Manager on the Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm project, talks about why he made the move from the oil and gas sector 3 years ago into a low-carbon career.

I am currently a Senior Project Manager responsible for the design and delivery of the Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm through the development and construction phases.

I have lived in Aberdeen (Oil & Gas Capital of Europe) since I was 9 years old. Throughout my secondary school and university education, I was surrounded by friends and parents all working in high carbon roles.

After leaving secondary school, l took a very traditional route into university. I had a passion for all things design, construction, and monster machines! I left university with a strong desire to be a Quantity Surveyor involved in large construction projects – I hoped it would be like an episode of Grand Designs every day of my working career!

Very quickly I was lured out of the construction industry and into a commercial management role in the Oil & Gas industry of Aberdeen as my transferrable skills were hugely valuable and in short supply. I spent my first 5-10 years in O&G focused on the commercial / contractual side, working on large projects in the North Sea and other parts of the world. After a chance secondment, I re-discovered my passion for building big 'things' and moved into Project Management. This is when I became responsible and accountable for developing and building large subsea infrastructure projects required for getting oil and gas from below the seabed and back to dry land for processing.

The high carbon roles I performed were all hugely satisfying. It was a chance to be part of building and maintaining critical infrastructure assets in the North Sea. Every role was different and every company I worked for provided a new opportunity to expand my knowledge and experience. 

The Oil & Gas industry had many benefits for me over almost 20 years I was involved. I loved the opportunity to travel the world. We had large, diverse, multi-discipline project teams that created fantastic team morale and lasting memories. We used large boats and construction equipment to develop new infrastructure projects; Grand Designs but on a bigger scale! While it was hugely rewarding, it was also very hard work. Long hours and immense pressure to maintain programmes and budgets. When you work with large boats and equipment, they can never be sitting still. A working vessel takes priority over any weekend family plans.

During my time in Oil & Gas, I worked through many cyclical boom periods and downturns. It was hard to plan your career and personal life never knowing what the future had in store. I eventually decided to specifically transfer to a low carbon role following the COVID pandemic, and my 40th birthday! It was a very difficult decision, but I took my time to find a fantastic role within a great growing organisation that has a clear desire to deliver infrastructure needed for the transition to net zero.

In my opinion and personal experience, having teams of diverse working backgrounds is hugely positive. A good mix of traditional low carbon and high carbon personnel provides an opportunity for learning, best practice cross-industry knowledge sharing and a growth mindset. There are many high carbon role skills I have found to be transferrable to both the Networks and Renewables side of the SSE business. For example, my attitude towards Health and Safety or Project Management experience from different industries has helped with new initiatives.

I’ve now worked for SSE for almost 3 years and I love it. SSE is a fantastic company with great leadership working towards a clear objective. When I was looking to transfer, I saw being part of SSEs net zero ambitions as a massive influencing factor. Change can be difficult or uncomfortable for many, but I find it very motivational. Hence the career opportunities at SSE should never be underestimated for developing your career.

Many people ask me about moving into a low carbon role. Every time, I would strongly encourage people to identify positions that have clear transferrable skills and a personal interest. Once you’ve done that, it’s really important to then update your CV and target your application to a specific role you are applying for.