Malcom Fraser

Transcript

I went to University in the '90s and got a biology degree - and instantly took a right turn into the computer games industry and eventually made my way into IT support. I was in my early 30s and I had a good job at a very big company in Canary Wharf - I had a good career and things were going well, but I had also had a very close personal bereavement, and that made me reflect quite intensely on on what direction I was taking in my life. Was this the right path for me, was I happy here did this align with my values? I decided that it was time for a change. I guess I could have always gone back if it didn't work but if I didn't take the opportunity and make a change where would that leave me

I took the risk and I took an opportunity and and I changed my career; in 2006 I went back to University as a mature student - so mid 30s amongst a bunch of 20 year olds!

That was in 2006 at Sterling University and I got a master's degree in Environmental Management. This was a very broad degree - a lot of career paths available out of that, and a lot of really interesting teaching there covering a real wide range of topics from ecology through to environmental law. With hindsight I realized I was quite privileged at being able to do that at 30 because I got a scholarship at the time.

I've worked at NatureScot for quite a long time now - it's nearly 15 years I've been in the organization, and a lot of the time you can be performing a role and moving things forward incrementally. But every now and again there are pieces of work that you're involved in where you feel like you personally have made a difference for nature, and those those are the pieces of work that really stick in your mind and that you hold on to.

I spent 6 months as a trainee specialist in our marine ecology team, and so that covers marine mammals and seabed habitats things like that. That was a great opportunity for me, because of my career path which has come in a slightly different route, I don't have that in-depth knowledge about one single subject... sometimes there can be a little bit of insecurity about that, but giving me the opportunity in NatureScot to try out a specialist role was was really instructive about what I want from my job. So what I learned in that six month period was just how much detail a specialist needs to hold on to all the time... they need to know the current understanding about their topic, they need to know the evidence gaps, have ideas for how to fill those gaps and then what comes next, where is the direction of research going... having dipped a toe in that water for six months, I valued the opportunity, but I decided that wasn't where my skills were were best-placed... so I moved back into a more generalist role and and I'm really enjoying it.

What we're trying to do at the end of the day is influence decisions - and you can't influence somebody unless they understand what you are saying to them. Some of the advice that we get from specialist staff is very technical and it can be written in different styles... so I may be speaking to half a dozen different colleagues, and I need to bring all of their very technical voices into one place. I need to think about what are the key things they need to understand, what are the key messages they need to take from this.

I would say to anyone considering a career with offshore wind, go for it. It's really clear to me to see the value of my work and how that is contributing towards net zero. I would say to anyone who's considering a career change, go for it. There are risks but there are opportunities - real important opportunities as well.