SSEN Transmission: Fivefold employee increase in five years as net zero jobs drive continues

Catherine Cowie (left) receives a welcome gift from SSEN Transmission's HR Director Allie Walker for becoming the 2,000th team member.

• Company celebrates the arrival of 2,000th team member this week

• Recruitment of 500 new jobs by March 2025 on track

Perth-based electricity company SSEN Transmission is celebrating its continued growth as it welcomes it’s 2,000th team member into the business this week, increasing the company’s headcount by fivefold in just five years. 

The growth marks an exciting milestone as it continues its 500 new net zero jobs recruitment drive throughout the financial year to help deliver an expansion of the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland.

The new jobs will be based throughout the country, with many of the roles able to be flexibly located at any of SSEN Transmission’s offices in Inverness, Aberdeen, Perth, and Glasgow.  

SSEN Transmission is on a rapid growth path across Scotland with a fivefold increase in employee numbers since 2019; from around 400 staff to this week welcoming its 2,000th team member into the business. 

Catherine Cowie recently joined SSEN Transmission’s Communities team in the company’s new Aberdeen Office located in Prime View, making her the 2,000th employee to join the rapidly growing business. She joins the team responsible for communicating and engaging with communities across the north of Scotland, underlining SSEN Transmission’s commitment to effective and meaningful engagement and consultation with the communities that will be hosting the essential electricity network upgrades required to help reach net zero.

The ongoing recruitment drive – announced in December 2023 - will create long-term, skilled green employment opportunities throughout the north of Scotland. 

The new jobs include project management, engineering, construction and electrical roles at all levels, as well as in SSEN Transmission’s environmental and marine specialist teams supporting efforts to protect the environment and ensure biodiversity net gain across all projects. 

Jobs will also be created to support stakeholder and community engagement, while over 100 roles will support early careers opportunities, including apprenticeships in engineering and project management along with graduate roles and trainee positions.

With new subsea electricity projects including the Western Isles HVDC Link, Orkney transmission link and Eastern Green Link 2 project along the east coast of Scotland currently under development, SSEN Transmission is also encouraging applications from experienced oil and gas sector professionals with transferable skills and valuable knowledge that can help deliver these projects. 

The new roles come as SSEN Transmission continues to develop its Pathway to 2030 programme, a £20 billion package of electricity grid upgrades across the north of Scotland consisting of new overhead lines, substations, convertor stations and subsea links.

These works are part of a major upgrade of the electricity transmission system across Great Britain required to meet UK and Scottish Government energy security and climate change targets, helping secure power for generations to come. 

The Pathway to 2030 programme has been assessed as supporting over 20,000 jobs throughout its development and delivery in the UK, 9,000 of which will be in Scotland.

SSEN Transmission opened a brand-new office in Aberdeen in November last year to help support its rapid growth path, which follows on from recent expansion into new office spaces in Perth and Glasgow.  There are further plans to extend its office space in Inverness later this year.  Two new state-of-the-art £17M operational warehouses are also under construction in Dundee and Inverness by Beauly-based Global Infrastructure Ltd to help with the expansion of the electricity transmission network. 

Jackie Dunbar MSP for Aberdeen Donside, said:
“It is always great to see new jobs being created but it is especially pleasing that they are jobs which are supporting a Just Transition.

“In the North East we working to establish ourselves as a global net zero capital and the investment that SSEN Transmission is making, that has seen these new jobs created, is a sign of confidence in that.

“I’m glad to see so many folk joining SSEN Transmission and working to get clean, green, renewable energy into homes right across Scotland.”

SSEN Transmission’s Managing Director, Rob McDonald, said:
“To reach 2,000 team members is an incredibly exciting milestone for SSEN Transmission, particularly since we’ve increased our headcount by fivefold in just five years since 2019. 

“Our ambitious £20 billion Pathway to 2030 investment programme – the biggest overhaul to the grid in a generation - can unleash the economic potential of the north of Scotland. For us to deliver it safely, securely and on time, we need to make sure we have the right people and skills within our teams to do this. 

“Our ongoing recruitment for another 500 net zero jobs throughout this financial year is taking great strides forward.

“We’re particularly keen to hear from those who are looking to get started in a career in energy, as well as those looking to transition from roles in the oil and gas sector who have plenty of transferable skills and knowledge to help deliver our ambitious programme.

“It’s an exciting time for SSEN Transmission with huge opportunities for those interested in a career supporting the energy transition.  These upgrades to the transmission network will help us build and deliver a network for net zero and help secure power for generations.” 

To view all current vacancies, sign up for job alerts and apply for a new career with SSEN Transmission, visit SSE Careers at https://careers.sse.com/.