On the surface, Julie Lansdell and Dylan Reid appear to have little in common. Julie, now in her sixties, has balanced a working life with bringing up three children, holding down a series of jobs including an 11-year stint as an administrative officer at a local county court in Norfolk. Dylan, in the early stages of his career, lives nearly 400 miles north on the east coast of Scotland. He most recently worked at a global distribution centre in Dunfermline.
Different ages, different backgrounds, but Julie and Dylan share three things in common: they both possess entrepreneurial spirit, they have a keen awareness of energy-related issues and a sense of responsibility to foster sustainable practices, and they’ve both received training through Shell UK’s SkillsTransition programme.
Julie recently completed a four-week Domestic Energy Advisor Level 3 course, part of the Shell UK-funded Energise employability programme. Delivered by charity partner Catch22, the Energise programme seeks to power careers in the energy transition by supporting people – especially those facing employment barriers – into jobs. Through Energise, Catch22 supports learners across London, Liverpool, Manchester and Norfolk, where Julie now runs her own small business as a domestic energy advisor.
After a period of unemployment, and struggling with confidence issues, Julie was looking for a different career path. In her new role, she assesses the efficiency of residential properties and produces Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). “The course has given me the opportunity to follow my dream and have my own business. It’s perfect,” she said. “I developed confidence, interview techniques and gained an understanding of the hidden jobs market. This helped me believe in myself and increased my drive.”
Dylan, meanwhile, is enrolled at one of Shell UK’s Energy Transition Skills hubs, at Fife College. He is studying for a national certificate in engineering systems with renewables, which will arm him with the practical experience and theoretical knowledge needed to pursue a career in electrical engineering. The NC level 5 course offers an introduction to renewable energy technology including wind, solar, and battery storage. Students develop electrical and mechanical skills and progress into a higher-level qualification, move into a modern apprenticeship or start a trainee role within a renewables business. Dylan’s ambition is to become a self-employed electrician. The Energise programme and the hub in Fife are two distinct examples of Shell UK’s SkillsTransition programme, which is focused on supporting 15,000 people into jobs with a focus on the energy transition by 2035. In doing so, Shell UK is assisting the government’s growth and clean energy missions.
As Skills England makes clear, clean energy skilled workers are essential if the government is to meet its Clean Energy Mission to deliver clean power by 2030 and accelerate the economy to net zero. If the UK is to move successfully to net zero by 2050 – and support an estimated 1.18 million newly created green jobs – it must meet an exacting challenge. Without the right investment, a skilled workforce and access to jobs, we risk leaving people behind and failing to meet the mid-century target. This is the skills gap Shell UK wants to help close.
Shell UK’s ambition involves ongoing commitment and investment in initiatives led by further education colleges, charities, and other skills bodies. Dylan is a beneficiary of the investment in further education colleges. Fife College is home to one of three UK-wide Energy Transition skills hubs Shell UK has helped create. The others are in Pembrokeshire and, opening later in 2025, Aberdeen. Taken together, they provide students with the opportunity to learn and refine critical capabilities. They each deliver specialist energy transition skills, including welding and fabrication in Aberdeen; community-level nano grid energy system design in Fife; and control room systems operations in Pembrokeshire.
Beyond the skills hubs, Shell UK works with third-party organisations like Catch22, a partnership which has proved to be so successful for Julie. Other specialist employability partners include Breaking Barriers, UpReach, Shaw Trust and Good People. Shaw Trust, for example, delivers short courses to support diverse groups of people with the soft skills they need to help them get into work and to understand the range of jobs available in the energy sector. The Shell UK SkillsTransition programme aims to reach people from a range of backgrounds and, to date, has supported over 4,000 people across the UK – people like Julie and Dylan – with many more to come.
Like Julie, Dylan believes the impact his course is having is huge. Not only has the course taught him practical skills, but it has also helped him fully understand what he wants to do in the future, cementing his commitment to play a role in the energy transition. He said: “I have learnt many things that I had never had experience with before, including the electrical principles theories. The best part of this course for me is being able to develop my practical wiring skills even more.”
The Shell UK SkillsTransition programme provides opportunities to ensure people are at the heart of the energy transition.
Read more about these programmes at: shell.co.uk/jobs-and-skills
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