More than 1,200 people applied to be wind turbine technicians with world-leader Orsted in the latest recruitment campaign.
With 23 roles available - including positions on the largest ever farm about to be built, Hornsea Two - it meant there were more than 50 applications for each opening.
And with technical competencies key to the roles, it underlines the clamour to enter the burgeoning industry that is re-inventing Grimsby.
All jobs are to be anchored at the company’s East Coast Hub on Royal Dock.
Darren Ramshaw, Ørsted’s head of East Coast region, said: “The response towards our latest recruitment drive has been outstanding. The interest that we’ve had from applicants proves how keen people are to work within a sector that is making a real difference to the world in terms of climate change. It’s our mission to create a world that runs entirely on green energy but that wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated workforce who are working on the front line.
“The Humber is such an industrialised area and because of that, we have so many local people with transferable skills that fit our requirements perfectly. Currently over 80 per cent of our current workforce who are based at the port in Grimsby live within an hour’s drive of the facility and we’re hoping that once we’ve taken on the new recruits, that this number will only increase.”
The Danish giant ran with the call to ‘change the world from your home town’ and many answered.
The largest single recruitment as it gears up for Hornsea Two, while also bolstering the teams that support Hornsea One, Westermost Rough, Race Bank and Lincs farms off the Humber, the need for electrical and mechanical apprenticeships was stipulated.
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Orsted is now well on the way to creating 400 jobs in the town, from a starting point of two in 2013.
With applications now closed, the selection process is now well underway within the £14 million East Coast Hub, with the site described as a fusion of the Thunderbirds’ Tracy Island and Google HQ, a factor no doubt adding to the attraction of being part of a renewable-powered future.
Candidates with a head for heights and strong sea legs face a day’s assessment and follow-up interview as part of the process.
Depending on wind farm assignment, they may sail daily or spend fortnights working from state-of-the-art service operation vessels.
Hornsea Two is about to start physical build out, and will add a further 165 turbines to the 375 Orsted operates and maintains from beneath the iconic Dock Tower.
When complete in 2022, it will be responsible for more than 3.5GW of electricity generation, with two more farms still in the planning and consenting stage for the zone.
Just down the Royal Dock quayside and Triton Knoll is being built out by RWE, with 70 jobs anticipated there when complete, with ORE Catapult setting up at neighbouring Port Office, also aiming to create 70 jobs - and bring many more into the town indirectly with the Offshore Wind Operations and Maintenance Centre of Excellence.
The Humber Gateway wind farm team and a host of third party operators located around the former fish docks - rebranded Port of Grimsby East - also form a key element of the cluster.