Madeleine shortlisted for national energy award
The Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and RWE apprentice is in the running for the Rising Star prize at the Young Energy Professionals awards in London
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai apprentice Madeleine Warburton has been shortlisted for the Rising Star accolade at this year’s Young Energy Professionals (YEP) awards.
Madeleine is in the second year of her apprenticeship as a wind turbine technician with international energy company RWE Renewables.
The 19-year-old is based at the Grŵp’s renewable energy training facility at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl campus, which is run in partnership with RWE.
She has been invited to attend the Energy UK YEP Awards in London on November 7, when she will be up against six other finalists for the Rising Star award.
Madeleine said: “I’m a bit nervous about it, but I’m very much looking forward to going down to London for the whole experience, and chatting to the other RWE employees and networking a bit with my company and the other people who are on the shortlist.
“I’m excited for that, and the event itself is black tie, so that’ll be the first formal event I’ve ever done like that. It’ll be weird being out of my work boots and work trousers!”
Earlier this year, Madeleine was named in the UK squad for WorldSkills Lyon 2024, after reaching the national final of the competition in the renewable energy category.
She said: “With the WorldSkills, getting to learn about that through college, and them putting me through it has been amazing.
“I’ve not just learned about wind turbine power, but also solar power and different things like that too.
“I’ve been going to training sessions at Edinburgh, Doncaster, and down in Warwick so I’ve had a lot of support from college to put me through extra training to compete in them, and I’m going again this year for it so it’s been really good to stretch myself there as well as at college.”
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s renewable energy training facility is based in the new £12m Engineering Centre at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl campus.
It boasts an industrial-scale wind turbine servicing and maintenance hall, showcasing the Grŵp’s commitment to advancing renewable energy education and innovation.
RWE has a longstanding relationship with the Grŵp, having established its wind technician apprentice programme and national apprentice training hub at Coleg Llandrillo in 2012.
Apprentices from around the country are supported through the hub, and have gone on to secure roles with the company’s wind fleet both onshore and offshore, including in North Wales.
Coleg Llandrillo’s state-of-the-art Engineering Centre is equipped to deliver a world-class learning experience, and features a comprehensive range of highly specialised training equipment, from industrial-scale CNC machines to robotics and rapid prototyping.
The Energy UK Young Energy Professionals Awards recognise energy industry professionals with up to 10 years of experience working in energy or for organisations providing a service to the industry. For more information click here or go to energy-uk.org.uk/event/the-young-energy-professionals-yep-awards-2024/