Main sponsors of The Herald's prestigious Scottish Politician of the Year event this year, ScottishPower continues to be a leading light in creating a greener future for Scotland by investing in the next generation of workers in renewable energy.

ScottishPower has welcomed over 60 students to its Year in Industry programme this month – its largest ever intake.

Based across ScottishPower’s UK operations, the programme offers recent school leavers, undergraduates and recent graduates a chance to work for a company at the heart of the UK’s work to achieve Net Zero for a full year.

Earning the Real Living Wage, students are given placements across a broad range of disciplines contributing first-hand to the 100% green energy company’s work.

Sarah McNulty, Director of People at ScottishPower, said: “It has been a privilege for ScottishPower to offer the Year in Industry programme for almost twenty years. Every year we see so many talented people join us, bringing with them new ideas and a passion for their role. We hope that they get as much out of the programme as we do by having them join our teams.

“This programme is part of a wealth of early career opportunities that we offer to help inspire young people as they look at what their career path might hold for them in the future.”

As the company welcomes in some of it’s its newest recruits, it has also started to welcome back former employees as part of it’s largest ever recruitment drive, with up to 1,000 green jobs on offer as part of the company’s record £10billion investment into the UK.

Recent research from ScottishPower has identified a trend of ‘boomerang employees’ returning to previous jobs as the UK labour market stabilises – with almost half (47%) of people considering returning to a past role.

The research conducted by YouGov suggests that the grass isn’t always greener when it comes to changing jobs, with two-thirds (63%) of those who regret leaving a job confessing their new role isn’t what they expected it to be. A third (34%) miss the people they worked with.

One ‘boomerang employee’ who left ScottishPower to try out pastures new before deciding to return is former graduate trainee Lesley Henderson, who recently re-joined ScottishPower as a Senior Manager after taking 12 years away from the business.

Lesley said: “It’s natural to want to try something new, particularly in the early stages of your career when you’re keen to see what else is out there.

“I left my previous role in ScottishPower’s Internal Audit team over a decade ago. Since then, I’ve worked for a range of organisations, lived overseas and even went back to university to get my MBA.

“All of this experience allowed me to build up a range of different skills and I recently decided to put them into practice, making the move back to ScottishPower in a new strategy position.

“The team welcomed me with open arms when I decided to return, so to anyone considering going back to a previous employer, I’d say go for it.”

Roles available with ScottishPower range from accountants and project managers to ecologists and engineers. They are all key to meeting the nation’s ambitious climate goals and are open to previous employees as well as new recruits.

Sarah McNulty, Director of People at ScottishPower, added: “ScottishPower is at the forefront of the UK’s race to net zero and we’re actively recruiting for the right people to join us on that journey.

“We have roles available for candidates at all stages of their career – we want to hear from anyone who is passionate about creating a better future, quicker, for everyone.”

www.scottishpower.co.uk

This article was brought to you in association with ScottishPower.