Recruiting young talent

Mille Marie Isaksen Lillemoen and Parisa Bardouni

A talk about students and young professionals

UTC 2023 – Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway 13-15 June

Mille Marie Isaksen Lillemoen

Student, NTNU

Mille Marie Isaksen Lillemoen is a green-transition enthusiast and Science and Technology Studies student at NTNU in Trondheim where she explores the intersection between technical and social sciences. She recently joined as Business Strategist in the social impact start-up NAYA, employing women from Indian slum areas for AI-related data processing tasks. She is also the Head of Business Relations at Boost Henne, an entrepreneurial interest organization aimed at young women. Isaksen Lillemoen worked with The ONS Foundation in Stavanger on secondment from DNO Norge as the Project Manager for ONS Young from 2019 to 2022. Prior to this, she was a Commercial Intern with DNO ASA in Oslo. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Stavanger, focusing on the green transition, geostrategy, and the EU Green Deal.

Parisa Bardouni

CTO, Aker Solutions

Parisa Bardouni is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in Aker Solutions. Aker Solutions delivers integrated solutions, products and services to the global energy industry. By combining innovative digital solutions and predictable project execution we accelerate the transition to sustainable energy production. Parisa is enabling the transition through technology development and technology partnerships. Parisa started in Aker Solutions in 2006 and has held various managerial positions such as Head of Subsea Project Engineering, Head of Subsea Manufacturing, Subsea Business and Strategical Development, Tender execution, Subsea EPC Project execution. She holds degrees in system engineering as well as project management.

Hey Parisa!

I am really looking forward to meeting everyone at UTC 2023 in Bergen shortly, but before we arrive, I have a few important questions from a student perspective – are you ready?

Hi Mille,

UTC is a great arena to get familiar with and be inspired by technology and the people behind the innovation. So, it’s certainly something to look forward to. I am looking forward to your questions and, not least, your perspective. So, Let’s get started.

Female role models in the energy industry

We are both women in what is a male-dominated energy industry. In the past months, I have worked to promote entrepreneurship to young women via Boost Henne at NTNU, and nothing makes our students more intrigued to try the entrepreneurial route than when they get to know other female founders and role models.

The same can be said for the energy industry – it is hard to imagine yourself in a company where you can’t see anyone looking like you. This was also my experience when I got to know the industry during my time with The ONS Foundation. In what way, as a female executive leader, conscious of your opportunity to inspire other women, does Aker Solutions have a specific strategy aimed at women?

Diversity and female participation are very important. I make it part of my day. This can be simple things such as reaching out and supporting colleagues that may need extra support in new positions, or it might be recommending a qualified candidate for a job opening.

Throughout my private life and career, I have been fortunate to have had many role models. This has positively impacted my decisions. I believe role models help expand the span of opportunities we see and remove limitations that perhaps are just in our minds. So, I try to be present in the public arena, share my story, and raise topics that are important to me.

Diversity is an integrated part of recruitment processes for all levels of Aker Solutions, and we’re strengthening our focus on initiatives that promote greater diversity and recruit female candidates while promoting women to leadership roles. Aker Solutions is a partner and sponsor of the female network for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM. We highlight female success stories and female employee journeys, both internally & externally. The Diversity and Equal Opportunity section of the Aker Solutions Sustainability Report for 2022 shows a fifth of all our leaders were female. A fifth of all our employees, too, were female in a male-dominated industry. Those numbers had come down from 25 per cent the prior year, and in 2023 we’re focused on restoring those numbers and then improving on them.

Software as a tool in the shift towards renewables

At least you inspire me as a leader in tech! And speaking of tech, I know that one of your current main objectives in Aker Solutions is to support the transition to sustainable energy production, using data and software in particular to accelerate the change towards sustainable energy production.

I thought supply companies were all about hardware; at least, this was not part of my curriculum in Political Science! Can you help me understand (in a way that even social scientists can understand) exactly how the software will help us go from oil and gas to renewable energy?

We believe digitalization to be an integrated part of our business and a key enabler to deliver on our strategic ambition. Aker Solution’s strategy is that renewable energy and transitional energy solutions will be our biggest business by 2030, and digitalization is the great enabler.

Today our renewables business carries out FEED and other project studies, but we aim to make digitalization a focus area that will enhance our project deliveries to ensure higher quality, faster, cheaper and safer deliveries. Yet, our digitalization initiatives are already enabling our renewable projects.

As you rightly say, we deliver products and new technology to enable sustainable energy. Examples of this are our power transmission equipment for offshore wind and our turbines for hydropower. These products come with improved monitoring and control technology to improve overall project efficiency.

Again, digitalization is our key enabler, and there are a lot of applications in support of the transition to sustainable energy.

Those who see the energy industry as the problem and the ones who see it as the solution.

In the last weeks a new, interesting angle in the energy-recruitment debate has emerged at my campus at NTNU. A group of engineering students voiced that they will not work for energy companies as long as fossil fuels are a part of their portfolio. Following this statement, another group of former engineering students currently working in the industry, argue that while they also want the transition to move faster, they believe the only practical way is to change the industry from the inside.

I have to say that I am relieved to see this discussion finally happening between young people, and not just between different generations! My fellow youth need to view the energy future as a personal issue and take ownership, especially here in Norway with energy being a part of our dna by now. I don’t know if relief is the first emotion this debate evokes in you and Aker Solutions, but I am curious if this new, engineer-led discussion change how you guys view recruitment?

First, I appreciate the discussion. It is good that our future engineers engage and discuss the critical matters and the challenges of our industry.

Our stated purpose at Aker Solutions is to ‘solve global energy challenges for future generations’. We mean it. We have major offerings within offshore wind, CCUS, Hydrogen, Hydropower and Aquaculture — in addition to Oil and Gas. Our Oil and gas competence, people and products are now driving renewable energy. I believe our interplay of engineering excellence, and collaboration is the true enabler of the energy transition.

We have several areas of collaboration with academia, and this discussion is a reminder that we should create more opportunities for debate and the exchange of information.

Emissions and worldview

Sometimes it is frustrating to listen to energy-emission debates because the industry sets goals related to emission reduction during production, and on the other hand it is meaningful to acknowledge overall emissions when fossil fuels are consumed. What do you think can be done to make sure we all discuss with the same worldview?

Aker Solutions is committed to a 50-per cent reduction of our emissions by 2030 and becoming Net Zero by 2050. We follow the GHG protocol and the GRI frameworks in our emissions accounting. Our internal targets are based on absolute emissions.

I believe that the key action here is for all companies in the industry to commit to reducing their own Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and proactively work toward Scope 3, a company’s value chain. That’s how we’ll get closer and closer to the vision for the world you’ve mentioned.

Here are some Scope definitions for clarity:

Scope 1 emissions cover a company’s own Green House Gas (GHG) emissions (i.e., by running its boilers and vehicles).

Scope 2 emissions are a company’s indirect emissions, as in the type of power in its electricity bill.

Scope 3 emissions are the most far-reaching and comprise all the emissions associated, not with the company itself, but up and down its value chain — from the products of its suppliers to the carbon footprints of its products when used.

What’s the plan if we do want in?

What kept coming up when working with ONS Young in Stavanger was how difficult it is for young people to actually grasp what the transition means. Who’s doing what? What can I do? What education should I choose, and what exactly is the plan we keep calling the energy transition? Now, the plan for the green energy shift is not your responsibility alone, but a part of it is. Can you name one thing you see as Aker Solutions’ responsibility going forward?

As an engineer, I would like to start by saying that these are exciting times for making an impact. We have a lot of opportunities. I would further emphasize that Aker Solutions can help sustain the crucial link between academia and industry and the continual exchange of knowledge and ideas.

This is a complex industry we are operating in. Can you give a one-minute pitch on what to expect as a newly hired engineer in Aker Solutions? Exactly what projects do you need people for, and how long does it take for a new employee to make an impact? What learning opportunities are available?

As mentioned above, Aker Solution’s purpose is to solve energy challenges for future generations. I believe in our purpose and that we are moving toward our ambitious goals of two-thirds of our revenue from renewables by 2030. Within that vision, new employees can make an immediate impact across all our projects.

I would definitely advise the rest of the Aker Solutions team to have this pitch ready when meeting possible employees and to continue being open when we ask those tough questions.

See you at UTC 2023 soon, Parisa!