Madeleine is an apprentice Wind Turbine Technician in the United Kingdom. Her passion for wind energy started early, and in this interview, she shares how she got her start in the industry.
I had decided in year 10 that the wind industry was the one I wanted to go into. I was lucky enough to have a chance encounter at a festival with Anne Thornton who I got chatting too and found out she was head of power transmission for Siemens energy. I got her details and kept in touch, and she offered me a week's work experience. Through this I had solidified that this was the job I wanted to do, and I just had to find a way to get into it. After my a levels I was looking at degrees and apprenticeships out there when a family friend saw this and sent it to me. I decided that this would be much better than the degree route as it is hands on and has a great career path opportunity. I got the job and the rest is history! RWE have been really supportive over the year and a bit I have been working here and I am looking forward to my future career!
The opportunities it has allowed me to take part in. I have been able to see so much through this apprenticeship, from blade testing to getting involved in maintenance on site and seeing different processes in how windy turbines are manufactured, tested, installed and maintained. I have been able to take part in WorldSkills renewable energy competition, placing 2nd at the national finals and moving to the next stage of training to compete in Shanghai 2026. I've been able to take part in panels to speak to students about my job and what I do, run activities for guide groups and was put forward to the yep awards rising star. This apprenticeship has managed to broaden my horizons in ways I didn't know were possible and I've met some amazing people along the way!
Be proactive and take any opportunity offered to help find out what you like to do. There are so many programmes out there that offer tasters of different jobs, like Stemettes, the Smallpiece trust and more. Willingness to learn new things is an amazing trait and can help you go far!
