Blog: Welcoming our new QHSE Manager

We’d like to introduce you to Dave Wakefield, our new QHSE Manager, who is standing in for Lesley Howard while she is on maternity leave.

Originally from the coastal town of Worthing in Sussex, Dave first visited Orkney in 2001 with his wife and was immediately attracted to the county’s beauty and charm. They continued visiting every year until they eventually decided to move here in 2008.  He now lives over the Churchill Barriers in Burray with Dave pondering whether the commute to EMEC’s offices in Stromness every day would be quicker by boat across the Scapa Flow.

Dave has 22 years’ experience in the RAF with various tours around the UK and a four month spell in the Falklands under his belt. While in the RAF he studied electronics with the Open University achieving a BSc, and progressed from an Air Communications Technician to an Avionics Engineer during his time in service. He was also involved in training and course design for Avionics mechanics/technicians. Following his time in the RAF, he worked as a Project Support Engineer on one of the Typhoon ground support equipment teams at BAE Systems and as a Technical Author/Project Support Engineer at an electronics company who made intelligent electronic thermostats for commercial drinks coolers.

Outside of work, Dave is training to be a bird ringer and has a keen interest in natural history. No stranger to the ocean, he also enjoys snorkelling and underwater photography.

Welcome to the EMEC team Dave.