SERENE HAMSHO
THE ENERGY INTERVIEW
The energy transition requires three key things: money, technology and people with the right knowledge and skills. In recent years, the first two items in that list have been very forthcoming, with huge investments in cutting-edge renewable energy rebalancing the global energy mix.
The final point in that trifecta, however, has always been a little trickier to come by. As things stand, the demand for workers with green skills is outstripping supply by a significant margin.
Offshore wind is an area of the energy sector in particular need of more recruitment right now. In the UK, the government anticipates that tens of thousands of engineering and maintenance roles will have to be filled by 2030 to carry out its energy plans.
SERENE HAMSHO
TITLE: FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
COMPANY: THE OFFSHORE WIND ACADEMY
INDUSTRY: ENERGY
Serene is an award-winning wind energy technologist, former MIT visiting scientist and public speaker. Her work has helped to shape the innovation trajectory of offshore wind technologies.
As such, education has never been more important. One organisation offering this kind of specialist training is the Offshore Wind Academy.
Founded in 2023, the Academy has grown quickly thanks to its huge range of educators with experience at some of the world’ s largest energy firms.
In 2026, it is helping to educate a new generation of energy sector professionals all around the globe. To learn more about the organisation’ s work, Energy Digital spoke to Serene Hamsho, the Offshore Wind Academy’ s Founder and President.
Q. WHAT DROVE YOU TO FOUND THE OFFSHORE WIND ACADEMY?
» The offshore wind industry was growing fast, but the workforce pipeline wasn’ t keeping up.
We were seeing enormous investment in projects, yet the professionals needed to design, build, operate and finance those projects were being trained in silos.
I saw a gap between what the industry needed and what was actually being delivered. I founded the Offshore Wind Academy to close that gap.
The core principle was straightforward: practitioners should be teaching practitioners. Not academics, not generalists, but people who have actually worked on these projects.
That’ s why our instructors come from companies like RWE, Ørsted, GE Vernova, Vestas, Avangrid and BCG.
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