Will
Pembroke Refinery opened in 1964, one of a number of refineries to be built on the Milford Haven Waterway during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Labour MP at the time, a political maverick named Desmond Donnelly, called the development of the oil and gas sector as “the rebirth of Pembrokeshire”, creating huge numbers of jobs in a region that badly needed them.
That legacy still exists today, with the Refinery supporting hundreds of highly-skilled, well- paid jobs in Pembrokeshire and across South West Wales. In particular, we significantly invest in the next generation of workers, with opportunities through world-class apprenticeship and student bursary schemes.
Every year a new cohort of apprentices are recruited from the local, Pembrokeshire community. Balancing their studies at Pembrokeshire College in Haverfordwest alongside working on site, these apprentices gain incredibly valuable skills in operations, maintenance, instrumentation and electrical engineering that will last a lifetime. The student bursary scheme sees undergraduates from top UK universities earn as they learn during summer holidays and a full sandwich year of employment, with the specialisation in chemical and mechanical engineering.
The energy industry in Pembrokeshire has changed markedly in the last sixty years, and promises to change further in the future. But these skills are exactly those that will be needed in the decades ahead – in-depth industrial expertise across engineering, electronics, chemistry, mechanics, operations and maintenance.
Embedded in the local community, the Refinery offers opportunities for local people – both school leavers and those in their mid-career looking to upskill – giving them a chance to earn good wages without having to move away from the area.
The local economy also has a number of highly-skilled SMEs that are a vital to local industry, with a symbiosis between larger companies like ours engaged with supply-chain firms that employ hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. As we look to a future where we increasingly balance emissions reductions, energy security and meaningful jobs across the economy, that shouldn’t be forgotten.