RENEWING CAREERS WITH RENEWABLES

Choosing a career path after school is never easy and for all the professional guidance in the world, occasionally it’s your parents that help drive through your destined employability. 

“I didn’t know what to do,” says Kinana. “It was my Mum who thought my approach to work would suit engineering and where my focus in civil engineering began.” 

After a diploma in civil engineering from Damascus University in Syria, with a small hesitation exploring a career in archaeology, Kinana discovered a love for renewables, studying for a Master’s degree in renewables energy for civil engineering at Le Havre University in France. 

“My first job was for an Engineering consulting office in Damascus. Purely civil engineering, working as a junior civil engineer (structure analysis and design, CAD executive and detailed drawings), it wasn’t the most enjoyable job but it did steer me towards a master degree upgrade! 

I considered staying in Damascus but the country’s unrest was escalating and with dual nationality, seized the opportunity to do my masters in France. Part of the course included an internship where I secured a role designing Photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines for the metro station with RATP (Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports), and it was this hand’s on approach I really started enjoying.” 

Being in the city was an extraordinary experience but Kinana knew it wasn’t a long term option for her, wanting to develop her English language skills in Great Britain. After travelling to the UK and fast forwarding a few months, a recruitment opportunity came up for a technical support role at Kensa. 

Clearly excelling in the interview, Kensa offered Kinana a different role, recognising her experiences and skills brought a new dimension to the growing organisation. 

“I love this job. The blend of physical work on the test rig combined with the problem solving, analysing, supply chain management and more recently being mentored in project management, has given me invaluable experience.” 

Kensa’s development work continues to grow from strength to strength with the team now looking at redesigning and evolving the casing for their revolutionary heat pumps, advancing the look of the product to compliment further the properties, both residential and commercial, they are installed in. 

Kinana concludes: “To have gone through a career path that included looking back at history to now being part of a team looking into the future is extraordinary. I suppose you could say ‘Mum knows best’.”