Hi I'm Dave and I'm a Maintenance Technician at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult's National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth. We test emerging offshore renewable energy technologies as they are developed e.g. giant offshore wind turbine blades. I started working in the Electrical Networks team as a Slinger. More recently I became a Maintenance Technician working as part of the Operations Team.

Prior to joining the ORE Catapult, I worked in the construction industry for Balfour Beatty and Bachy Soletanche as part of the Competent Person Programme. I am a trained tele-handler, fork-lift and Mobile Elevation Working Platform (MEWP) operator. Initially, I joined the organisation as an operator and rigger working in the high voltage test laboratory but I later joined the operations team working in multiple facilities across the site at Blyth.

Obtaining your working at height and rescue training qualification is essential if you’re interested in maintaining and working on wind turbines. Doing an apprenticeship is also a really good way of starting out and I would really recommend it due to the support available, experience and skills gained. You can watch a video about Dave below.