Mentored to Engineer the Future of Energy
Curious about energy production and passionate about renewables since school, Mitchell’s internship with Shell was the defining period that helped him identify the career path to fuel his passion and help him play a role in the energy transition. He shares his story of joining Shell’s QGC business as a graduate maintenance engineer and finding fulfilment in directly supporting Shell’s goal of providing more and cleaner energy solutions.
Curious about the energy ecosystem
Mitchell, a mechanical engineer, can trace his passion towards the energy transition to his days in school when each time he had the opportunity to pick his own assignment, it would always end up being focused on solar energy or renewables. His curiosity about how energy is produced and interest in sustainable energy sources stayed with him and led him to build a device that could convert the movement of waves into energy as a part of his engineering thesis.
While in university, Mitchell started an internship as a maintenance engineer at Shell and immediately knew the direction in which he wanted to take his career. “After seeing the work environment and the development opportunities that were available to people, I was determined to excel in the internship to earn a spot on the Shell Graduate Programme,” he says. After formally securing his degree, Mitchell found a place in the Graduate Programme as a maintenance engineer with Maintenance, Reliability and Turnaround Asset with Shell’s QGC business.
Growing by learning to utilise skills at scale
A large part of Mitchell’s work focuses on the upkeep of computer-monitored maintenance systems (CMMS) of Shell assets, ensuring they are online, updated and working in line with the strategies. He also contributes to the implementation of big changes in asset operations.
Mitchell’s curiosity and openness led him to discover a solution that help achieve cost efficiency. “While combing through the system I noticed a part that was replaced every three years and could be optimised to be used for six years,” he explains. “Multiply that with 400 wells where this part is used and add labour costs to replace the part. This allowed for significant cost savings.”
As regular as Mitchell makes his day-to-day work sound, the enormity of the system he works in and the bearing his work can have, is not lost on him. “To truly understand the scale at which Shell QGC business operates you need to experience it first-hand on the field. It spans across a landmass where driving from one end to the other takes six hours, that’s almost the size of the Netherlands,” he says. “Imagine the importance of the computer systems that control these assets and the impact it can have on the front line.”
Working at this scale and learning the intricacies of these systems, the assets, and various aspects of the business itself, Mitchell says, helps him upgrade and add to his transferable engineering skills.
Passion to shape the energy future
A big reason Mitchell joined Shell was to align his passion with his profession and his current role, he says, enabling him to make tangible contributions to the energy transition on the ground.
“Natural gas is an important source of energy that provides energy stability while we transition from traditional to new and renewable sources of energy. The work I do daily makes a tangible contribution to the energy transition, from driving energy efficiency, to reducing material consumption, to reducing kilometres driven by frontline workers. It’s a great feeling,” he says.
Learning by collaborating with experienced colleagues
What has accelerated upskilling and made navigating the system easy, he says, is the opportunity to collaborate with experienced colleagues with a wide and diverse range of capabilities that a global company of the size and scale of Shell provides. “Working alongside senior professionals who come with a depth of knowledge and are open to sharing their experiences is a big contributor to my learning. I have found it easy to approach colleagues with a long list of questions and they have always patiently taken time to answer in detail,” he says.
Maximising potential by prioritising well-being
What Mitchell finds insightful is how the organisation values ways to prioritise the safety and well-being of its people. And these values, he says, show in the simple everyday culture. “Shell makes it mandatory for everyone to hold the railing when taking the stairs. It’s a small detail most people don’t give an active thought until an incident takes place but a simple way to ensure an added layer of safety,” he says. “It’s a practice that I have started to take back home with me.”
Another example that Mitchell believes conveys the organisation’s trust in its people and evokes mutual respect and honesty is supporting every individual to identify the work routine that strikes the best balance between productivity and well-being. “I like stepping out of my home and going out to work. I cycle in every day, shower at work before starting my day and choose to work from home only on a Monday to extend the physical rest from the weekend. Others pick a different routine keeping in mind what produces the best results for them,” he says. “It’s a culture that gives every person the room to define their own balance and trusts them enough to utilise the flexibility well.”
The appreciation of performance backed by growth opportunities, a culture that cares for employee well-being and an environment that encourages learning and development are all factors that motivate Mitchell to go the extra mile to help Shell meet its net-zero emissions goals.
