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THE RISE OF OFFSHORE WIND AS RENEWABLE SOURCE OF POWER POSES A REAL CHALLENGE FOR THE RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY. OPERATORS, TOGETHER WITH CONTRACTORS AND RECRUITMENT AGENCIES, HAVE ALL HANDS ON DECK TO FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ATLAS PROFESSIONALS.
Joost Pellis, Strategic Manager Renewables & Marine at Atlas Professionals.
Together with DOB-Academy, Atlas Professionals organised so-called Wind Experience Days.
Atlas Professionals is one of those recruitment companies. Based on their many years of experience, they approach the growing demand for skilled workers from a different angle, as Joost Pellis, the company’s Strategic Manager Renewables & Marine, explains.
Focus on offshore All over the world, there are many organisations that operate in the recruitment market and each of them has its own way of doing business. Mr Pellis says, “As a recruitment company, we operate in the maritime, oil & gas, and wind energy industry. For each segment we have a dedicated unit, although the segments have a lot in common. Both oil & gas, as well as offshore wind have a maritime component and there is a large similarity between working in the oil & gas and in the offshore wind industry, so the three units work closely together and when necessary help each other with opportunities. When looking more specifically at the offshore wind market, we have gained a lot of experience and a fine track record, going back almost fifteen years ago with activities in the UK.” Mr Pellis continues, “Our focus has always been on offshore, but we are since 2018 also involved in the onshore wind industry after opening our branch in Vlissingen in the Netherlands. Aim for this office was to supply (local) staff for the nearby Belgian and Dutch offshore windfarms, yet soon after the opening we were asked to support companies in onshore wind with their recruitment & HR challenges. Together with our office in Hoofddorp, we are now servicing the onshore and offshore windfarms in Netherlands, Belgium, and more recently, Germany too.”
An intensive process Qualified professionals are scarce, and this is a global challenge. This is one of the reasons why Atlas Professionals has offices all over the world – from Russia to Brazil and from Norway to Singapore. “Our global reach enables us to seek and select the most talented (local) professionals worldwide to meet the needs of our clients and their projects”, states Mr Pellis. “Finding the right people for the right job is an intensive process. It is important to know the exact competences and ambitions of our candidates and then on the other hand, for the best matchmaking, we also need to have an in depth about the companies we work with, the job specifics, team set up combined with the companies values and strategy. So interviewing both candidates and companies is essential. For a successful match, we need to know if the job fits the candidate and the other way around. Whether it is about permanent recruitment or a contract role, we consider each candidate as our representative towards our customers. Therefore, we put ample effort into finding the right person for the job and this is not only based on their experience or technical skills, but just as much based on their soft skills and fit with the company. I am proud to state that we are actively encouraging and stimulating our professionals to develop and perform at the highest level. They receive continuous guidance, training, and education provided by our staff backed by years of broad industry experience.”
Sharing expertise Atlas Professionals was founded in 1982 and the company has since grown to become an internationally operating, HR service provider in the Energy, Renewables and Marine industries. Its mission is to become the number one choice for their clients, both for companies and professionals, by being committed to providing a safe, reliable, competent, and happy workforce. “For our customers, we would like to be the partner that delivers highly qualified >>
Atlas Professionals supplies professionals to the entire renewables supply chain, including pre-assembly sites.
personnel. To do so, we create custommade and comprehensive HR solutions. We differentiate from our competitors by extensively sharing the expertise gained from working in our three industries, as we are convinced that sharing knowledge is key in meeting the many challenges in our industry to come”, Mr Pellis explains. For Atlas Professionals, this sharing starts with providing a large amount of relevant digital content through websites and social media channels. “In the case of wind energy, it is important to tell the audience what the industry entails”, Mr Pellis states. He continues, “Wind energy is not only a matter of a turbine generating energy, it is a complete supply chain with various roles and responsibilities asking for a broad range of competences. It is evident that the offshore wind industry generates abundant jobs, both now and in the near future. It is estimated that in the US, 80,000 vacancies are to be filled within the next decades and 40,000 in the UK. The more we tell people about the wind energy industry, the easier it will be for us to support our customers to fulfil their demand for skilled professionals”, Mr Pellis explains with confidence. Next to their own website, Atlas Professionals has registered several international domains
such as www.werkenindewind.nl and www.werkinindewind.be (editor: werken in wind means working in wind). Mr Pellis adds, “The website werkenindewind.nl is, for example, dedicated to informing people about the wind industry. We show the latest news and developments, we explain what the industry entails, and we list the jobs available in on and offshore wind.”
Seeking collaboration Next to providing digital content, the company is, among other things, also partnering in lots of events. “With MHI Vestas and DOB-Academy (editor: a Dutch training institute for offshore wind professionals), we participated in the US in one of the IPF events organised by the Business Network for Offshore Wind”, Mr Pellis voices. He can provide numerous examples about sharing knowledge in Europe, too. “Together with DOB-Academy, we organised so-called Wind Experience Days and this year we started the Renewables Road Show, together with DOBAcademy and NWEA (Netherlands Wind Energy Association). Both events are aimed at young people that are about to choose an education or that have just graduated and who are seeking a job. We are also member of various trade associations in The Netherlands. With one of them, the Amsterdam IJmuiden Offshore Ports (AYOP), we have planned a workshop for the other members in which we explained the entire offshore wind supply chain.” Mr Pellis concludes, “All these activities fit within our value that sharing knowledge will always lead to a positive result. We communicate with the entire offshore industry, with relevant educational institutes and their students, and for this purpose we often look for collaboration. With the end game being to support the industry with solving its work force challenges.”
