A business that provides recruitment services to the energy sector has received support from the Green Port Growth Programme (GPGP) to improve the skills of the technicians it supplies.
Boston Energy, in Beverley, works with some of the world’s energy giants, including GE Energy, Rolls Royce Marine, Siemens, Centrica, Dong Energy, Senvion and MH Vestas. Earlier this year, the company purchased survival and ‘working at height’ equipment and invested in specialist training for staff within the Yorkshire and Humber region. The aim of this was to up-skill and cross-skill technicians and engineers, making the business more competitive in the emerging renewables industry.
Funding for this came from the GPGP, which is supported by the Regional Growth Fund and is designed to help regional businesses capitalise on renewable opportunities.
Boston Energy General Manager, Kevin Ellis, commented:
“We’ve had a contract with Siemens for the past three years, supplying technicians to work offshore and onshore on the turbines. We decided to train an additional 24 technicians this year and we needed to make sure all reached the high standard of skills required by attending the six-week course, and also had the safety equipment they needed to carry out this work. With this costing around £12,000 per person, the funding support from the GPGP was very valuable to our business.
“The two courses were completed in May and it has helped strengthen our excellent relationship with Siemens. We are so confident in the skills of our staff that we are hoping to expand into Europe and are looking at a number of joint ventures and collaborations. This support and investment in our workforce will open many new doors for us.”
Project Manager for GPGP’s business support team, Dawn Hall, said:
“Boston Energy has won contracts with some of the leading energy companies, but with the market becoming so competitive, the business needed to remain at the forefront with a highly-skilled workforce. We are delighted we could support them with this objective and help fund the significant cost involved.”
If you are interested in expanding your business in the renewable sector, visit http://greenporthull.co.uk/business-support-investment
Alternatively, contact GPGP’s business support team on 01482 391639 or e-mail greenportgrowth@eastriding.gov.uk
