What do the London 2012 Olympic Games and the energy transition have in common? Good project management is key to their success.
The East of England energy sector needs more project managers.
Identified as a skills shortage area, Daniel Bradley, an experienced oil and gas project manager and deputy lead for the Association of Project Management in the region, says it’s a “dynamic and fulfilling career” that young people need to know about.
“We need competent project managers to deliver the energy transition. If we are going to spend money in our region and deliver these projects well, we need good project management,” Daniel said.
He pointed to the London Olympics in 2012 as the pinnacle of a massive project delivered well, and leaving a legacy – something the energy transition must also do.
“Project management is varied. A project manager is responsible for delivering the whole project. It has a defined scope, start and finish dates and a budget.
“What is great about project management is that you need to know a little bit about everything. You need to know about leadership because you are leading people and are responsible for their development and growth on the project,” Daniel explained.
“You are responsible for contracting and procurement, and you need to understand what the project needs to be a success.
“In our industry, you need to understand engineering and how oil and gas is produced, its operations, health and safety, construction and processes.
“It can be very general, but you can also be a specialist, a chartered project manager. You might enjoy finance so can move into cost control or move into different industries because there are so many transferable skills that can also take you into general management and leadership.”
Daniel is marking 20 years in the workplace by transitioning his international and UK oil and gas project management experience into general leadership. This “career tipping point” wasn’t what he envisaged when he started as a technical apprentice in Lowestoft before his 16th birthday.
Learning from mentors and seizing progression and learning opportunities, including a degree, an MBA, and working in Qatar, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Daniel found a niche in project management.
His apprenticeship with the former Specialised Management Services (SMS) was secured following two periods of work experience in his own time after refusing his school’s work experience placement at frozen food retail giant Iceland.
“I was doing GCSE engineering, I wanted to be an engineer, and I was offered Iceland. Other people got placements in engineering companies, so I refused to go,” said Daniel.
“I didn’t enjoy or particularly excel at school. I enjoyed being treated like an adult and being in the work environment. Once I started at college, I realised that I had a passion for learning. School is not always the right learning environment for everyone.”
He followed that passion through NVQ levels 1, 2 and 3 at what was then Lowestoft College, now East Coast College, a BTEC, foundation degree, bachelor’s degree in engineering, followed by an MBA, all completed alongside full-time roles, some demanding six and seven-day weeks.
He moved from repairing Great Yarmouth seafront rides in his early career – “I’d say my best job was repairing the rides at Joyland” – to project manager on what was then the world’s deepest producing supergiant oil field and the largest single-trap producing reservoir in existence. He is a huge advocate for apprenticeships.
“I grew up fast in the workplace because I was exposed to adults at 16 and dealing with customers, getting valuable life experience and taking responsibility.”
At SMS, he became a project engineer, before moving on to AMEC to work on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects.
In 2013, he moved to Wood Group in Aberdeen, enrolling on an MBA with Robert Gordon University, then to Qatar for AMEC when pay cuts hit in the oil price crash. Working for a US client was “tough but interesting work”, involving 60-hour weeks with another 20 hours on top for his MBA studies.
“I learned a lot in a short space of time,” said Daniel. “It was my first experience of working in a multi-cultural, multi-discipline team as project manager with teams in Aberdeen, Doha, Jakarta and Perth.”
Then came Azerbaijan, which was “very different to Qatar”, working on a contract for BP six days a week, as well as his MBA work.
Returning to the UK in 2016, he worked for Worley Parsons on the Tengiz Future Growth and Wellhead Pressure Management Project in the UK and Kazakhstan. The multi-billion-dollar Chevron-led project had about 5,500 engineers working in different locations and was Daniel’s first experience of such large-scale project management.
From Kazakhstan, he returned to the UK when Shell was looking for a project engineer in Great Yarmouth. He had carried out his MBA consultancy project with Shell.
“I really wanted to work for Shell and came back in 2018, first as a contractor and then quickly converted to staff as project lead based in Great Yarmouth for projects for the UK and the Netherlands.”
In 2023, his remit extended to worldwide projects, travelling to London and The Hague.
“SMS supported my apprenticeship and paid for my degree. Dave Howlett (then SMS MD) mentored me through everything I needed to know. It was a fantastic place to learn.
“I have jumped about a bit. Going to Qatar was a whim that was worthwhile. I have always had the ethos that if something doesn’t fit, change it. If you need to move on to grow, move. I have always thought that you make your own luck.”
His MBA mentor was Bob MacDonald, the then-CEO of Wood Group STS, who helped shape his career. They remain in touch, and Daniel has now stepped into the mentor role.
“Mentoring is important. People have given up time to help me and I want to give back.” Giving back has also led him into leadership and governance of the East of England Energy Group’s action taskforce to address the regional energy skills gap.
“We have a unique opportunity in East Anglia with Sizewell C, the grid upgrade, offshore wind and so much else. “We need an engagement plan and to maintain momentum. It demands good project management to make it a success.”
The energy transition may not have an Olympic torch, but it’s people like Daniel that light the way to powering our future.
This story is also published in Insight Energy magazine, covering the latest news from the UK's energy sector. Read the latest edition here.
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