Industrial giant Siemens has made its site at Didsbury Technology Park the global centre of excellence tasked with delivering some of the UK’s largest offshore wind and energy interconnector projects, creating over 100 new jobs, including apprenticeships.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham officially opened the site’s new £5m high-tech function performance testing lab in Manchester on Friday 16 June. The lab provides a range of high-tech test solutions for the energy industry.
More than 100 new engineering and digital support roles have been created at the Didsbury site, including 20 apprenticeship roles, with further recruitment to follow later this year.
Greater Manchester is working towards a science based target to become net zero by 2038. To do this it will need a net zero British electricity system which will require five times as much grid capacity in the next seven years, including 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
The Siemens Energy team, from their grid technology hub in Manchester, are working on energy infrastructure projects critical to the UK reaching its target including Beatrice, East Anglia 3, Triton Knoll and Viking Link.
Mark Pilling, Vice President Grid Solutions Europe at Siemens Energy, said: “Our electricity grid needs reinforcing to support the transition to green energy, and it needs to be built much faster to achieve the country’s net zero targets. There is no energy transition without transmission. Our new recruits will be supporting many windfarm, interconnector, and decarbonisation projects in development on our shores. They will be playing a significant role in delivering on the UK’s energy transition and progressing to a net zero future.”
Mayor Andy Burnham, who met some of the new recruits at the Didsbury site, said: “It’s been fantastic to see the amazing, future-facing operation at Siemens Energy. Wind will form a big part of the energy mix going forward so there should be many jobs on the site for years to come.
“What they do here is ground-breaking, adapting to the way offshore wind is changing and ensuring the technology keeps pace with the demands. Much of that work goes on right here in this building. We want Greater Manchester to be a leader in the green economy and this is a prime example of a cutting-edge green technology company.
“We also heard from young people from the area who work here, including one is now doing incredible work as an apprentice. That’s what we want to see – people in Greater Manchester being able to access the jobs on offer. We’re bringing forward a major reform of technical education in Greater Manchester and we want young people to have a clear path into the growing success story that is the Greater Manchester economy. The young people we met are a great example of what we’re trying to achieve.”
