We sat down with former Forces personnel and Boston Energy Technician Colby shares his experience of transitioning into the wind energy industry with Boston Energy and the advice he would give to other Armed Forces leavers pursuing a career in wind energy.
“I joined Boston Energy after leaving the military in 2017, and in the last six years I have spent with them they have helped me progress from a trainee technician through to a Level 5 Mechanical Technician. Despite it being a nerve wracking experience coming from a completely different career, the staff at Boston and the lads on site gave me so much support, which made the transition into my new career easy and relaxed. I’ve enjoyed it since day one thanks to that.
It’s hard to pin down what my favourite thing is about working in the wind industry with Boston Energy, everything I suppose! I’ve enjoyed being at London Array and progressing into a role where I can gain more responsibility.
The advice I would give to forcers leavers looking to begin a career in wind energy is to not be scared about making the jump. The industry is always growing so there is always going to be a demand for those with transferrable skills from an Armed Forces career – Boston are especially loyal to ex-service leavers like me who come in with no experience and help them progress further in their careers, which then opens you up to a huge variety of opportunities and roles in the wind energy industry across the globe. Don’t let having no experience put you off, I didn’t!
My journey started with Boston the week after I left the military; I got my interview the following Monday, got the job on the Tuesday and began training the following Monday. After one month of training, I was mobilized to one of the largest offshore windfarms in the country, where I spent 7 weeks as a trainee before progressing on to become a Level 4 Technician (CT). During my time as a Level 4 I worked on high speed bearing replacement jobs, servicing & assistant troubleshooting, before moving up to a Level 5 Competent Technician in 2022 leading services and gaining more experience and knowledge each day.
Now, six years after I began my journey in the wind industry with Boston Energy, I’m looking forward to working towards becoming a qualified Level 6 Troubleshooter. I’ve met so many amazing people along the way and the support from the Boston Energy team and everyone at site has been instrumental to my career progression. I would recommend a career in wind energy to anyone leaving the Armed Forces and I’m glad I started mine with Boston Energy.”
