Partnering with local education providers to raise awareness of renewable energy career paths
Developed with our joint venture partner Vårgrønn, our Green Volt floating wind development will make landfall close to Peterhead (north of Aberdeen) and is expected to unlock significant private investment and create hundreds of jobs in years ahead.
Over recent months, our Stakeholder Engagement team has been working closely with a number of schools across Aberdeenshire, as part of an outreach programme to raise awareness of the long-term opportunities available within the renewable energy sector.
A focus on STEM subjects
Our local school engagement programme delivers a coordinated focus on how science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects can provide useful foundation skills for an onward career in renewable energy and certain roles in the offshore wind sector.
With Community Liaison Officers in project teams trained as accredited STEM Ambassadors, engagement workshops are tailored to each school and each year group taking part in the sessions.
The Green Volt project’s STEM engagement strategy aligns its activities with school curricula, providing interactive workshops, guest speakers and project-based learning to deepen students’ understanding of real-world energy concepts, while inspiring interest in STEM fields.
Community Liaison Officer, Teresa Dawson – Presenting at Meldrum Academy
Green Volt STEM engagement strategy commitments
Reach out to local schools to build strong relationships with teachers, headteachers, and education leaders, ensuring mutual understanding of goals and expectations.
2. Align activities with the curriculum
Work closely with educators to identify key curriculum areas where STEM can be incorporated, ensuring our activities directly support and complement classroom learning.
3. Design interactive STEM activities
Create engaging workshops, hands-on activities, and guest speaker sessions that are tailored to different age groups and subjects, making learning enjoyable and practical.
4. Provide resources and support
Offer teachers additional resources, such as lesson plans or activity guides, that help them incorporate STEM concepts into their lessons both during and after our sessions.
5. Encourage teacher feedback and collaboration
Regularly collect feedback from teachers to assess the impact of our programs and identify areas for improvement, ensuring that we remain flexible and responsive to their needs.
Provide opportunities for teachers to enhance their STEM knowledge through training sessions, workshops, or resources that empower them to integrate more STEM content into their teaching.
7. Monitor and evaluate impact
Track student engagement and learning outcomes, using surveys, observations, and other tools to measure the effectiveness of our initiatives and make adjustments where necessary.
8. Foster long-term relationships
Build lasting partnerships with schools by maintaining regular communication, offering continued support, and exploring new ways to enhance STEM education year on year.
Career pathways workshops at local secondary schools
At secondary level, over recent months Teresa Dawson – Community Liaison Officer has been leading a Green Volt team delivering workshops with students enrolled on the Shell Girls in Energy programme within local academy schools. Shell Girls in Energy is a year-long engineering course (SCQF Level 5) encouraging young women (14 to 15 year-olds) to explore STEM subjects, and discover exciting aspects of the energy sector in a familiar school setting.
Research has shown that introducing STEM subjects to students at a formative age leads to a higher likelihood of those individuals developing their interests further into adulthood, which plays a positive role later in their career choices.
Through innovative educational initiatives such as Shell Girls in Energy and the Green Volt stakeholder team’s programme of local school engagement, the aim is to attract young talent into the renewables sector over the years ahead. Acknowledging the value of co-ordinated STEM activities in collaboration with industry, this commitment is clearly supported by secondary level education across mid-Aberdeenshire.
Energy Offtake Manager – Claire Tindle, part of the Green Volt team presenting at Peterhead Academy
Peterhead, Ellon, Meldrum, Mintlaw and Turriff academies in mid-Aberdeenshire have now hosted workshops in partnership with the Green Volt project. Since December 2024, 80 students have now taken part in these sessions, with other schools in the area to follow in the months ahead. What’s more, the Stakeholder Engagement team has also been planning a programme of interactive activity sessions tailored to primary school age pupils.
Primary school and community engagement
On 15 May 2025, the Green Volt project ran a primary school STEM session at New Deer Primary with 128 pupils across all year groups. Children of ages from 4 to 12 years old enjoyed making their own Green Volt branded paper windmills, with pupils delighted to see them turn in the wind in the school playground. Older pupils at the school enjoyed building their own wind turbine using our Horizon Wind Energy education kit and took on the challenge of understanding how electrical power is generated from a wind source.
New Deer Primary school is located close to where the Green Volt project cable will connect into the National Grid and marks the first primary school engagement of the outreach programme. Other primary schools are being scheduled for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Engineer, Matt Barnott – Speaking to New Deer Primary School students
Wider community engagement
As well as holding STEM events in school settings, the Green Volt Stakeholder Engagement team has also been interacting with local students at community events.
Last month at an Engage with Engineers event at the Cadet Training Centre in Boddam, south of Peterhead, project representatives met with children and young adults to explain how a career in engineering can also mean a career in renewables. Over 200 children and adults attended the event, with a note of sincere thanks due to 2nd Battalion The Highlanders Army Cadet Force for organising the day.
Flotation Energy (co-developer of the Green Volt project) has recently received the Armed Forces Employer of Recognition – Silver Award 2025, for its commitment to the UK Armed Forces Community.
Engage with Engineers event, Cadet Training Centre, Boddam – Engaging with children and young adults in a community setting
The future of the energy transition
The Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) reports that UK offshore wind needs to fill over 35,000 roles by 2030 to drive UK Government net zero targets. Clearly, young people entering the workforce over the next five years will have an important role to play in successfully meeting this target. What’s more, the decarbonisation of North East Scotland more widely represents a real opportunity for the region to take the lead in the UK energy transition over the years ahead and for young talent entering the workforce to play their part.
If your school or organisation is interested in hosting an engagement event with the Green Volt Stakeholder Engagement team, please email [email protected].
