Katy Gallie, ScottishPower Renewables

Thanks to the BBC, I had the amazing opportunity to go ‘back to school’ today as part of the  ‘BBC 100 Share Your Story’ career tour to talk to high school pupils about working in the creative industries and the opportunities that can offer.

For me, it was doubly exciting to get that chance to inspire young people to think about the jobs and careers they want to follow as it’s also Green Careers Week. This meant it was a brilliant chance to show that you can have a green career no matter what background you have and that there are loads of different roles you can get involved in.

Speaking to around 700 pupils at Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld – alongside panellists from the public sector and the BBC also in the early stages of their careers – I gave a brief presentation of what a typical day looks like as part of the ScottishPower Renewables’ communications team. I also got the chance to share examples of some of the work I have produced and been involved in before taking part in a Q&A session with the young people about my journey from school to corporate career.

While it was a bit daunting, being a part of this tour was so rewarding. I feel really fortunate to have a job that I love and that provides me with opportunities like this to inspire others to achieve their career goals and set their own goals and ambitions. I would’ve loved to have had the opportunity to have heard from someone in my position when I was at school.

It was great to be able to highlight all the different green careers that exist within the renewables industry and not just the obvious ones like engineering. It’s not all about putting on a hard hat and hi-vis and climbing up a wind turbine! 

Growing up, I had no idea about what I wanted to do. I studied business management at uni before joining ScottishPower’s Year in Industry programme and that gave me a creative role within the renewables industry just months after graduating. It’s been amazing and I’ve got to do so many different things – from supporting official events during COP26 to creating internal communications about Santa coming to Whitelee Windfarm!

So, my advice to the pupils at Greenfaulds High and anyone starting out in their career is to grab every opportunity you can get – be confident and push yourself out of your comfort zone as that is how you get different opportunities and get your name out there to grow your career – and hopefully a green career at that.

There are endless opportunities for business students and creative individuals in this industry such as communications, media, community engagement, stakeholder engagement and events management – as well as a whole host of other areas.

I’m proud to get the chance to share my green career story and hopefully I will have inspired others to do the same and join this industry as it offers so much.