What happened

SSE Renewables has named Seaway7 as preferred supplier for the foundations and inter-array cables on Berwick Bank B, the second phase of its 1.4GW offshore wind project in the Firth of Forth, SSE confirmed this week. The scope covers engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of around 90 fixed-bottom foundations plus the cabling that links the turbines together. SSE says the deal will support about 465 UK jobs, roughly 160 directly with Seaway7 and a further 105 in the UK supply chain, with the rest tied to the turbine installation work that sits alongside it. Around 400 of the total are expected to land in Scotland, with Seaway7's project team run out of Aberdeen.

It is worth being precise about what has and hasn't happened. This is a preferred supplier appointment, not a signed contract. The deal still needs a final contract award and depends on SSE reaching a final investment decision on Berwick Bank B, which the company expects in late 2027. A marshalling port for the foundations has not been chosen yet either.

Why it matters

Berwick Bank, taken as a whole, is one of the largest offshore wind developments proposed for UK waters, and SSE's running total of roles committed across its phases is now nudging 600 UK jobs, more than 500 of them in Scotland. Even as a preferred supplier appointment rather than a locked contract, it tells you where SSE's own confidence sits on this project, and it adds another data point to a pattern that has been building all year: the volume of EPCI and foundation work tied to Scottish offshore wind is large enough that specialist installation contractors are now a visible route into the sector, not just the turbine makers and developers.

What it means for careers and hiring

Aberdeen and the wider North East Scotland market has spent a decade absorbing oil and gas engineers into renewables, and this is another concrete reason that shift keeps paying off. Seaway7's roles will skew towards marine engineering, foundation installation planning, cable engineering and project controls, with the supply chain jobs spreading into fabrication and logistics around whichever port ends up handling the marshalling work. If you are a project engineer or quantity surveyor with a subsea or marine civils background, this is a live signal to get in front of Seaway7 and its tier-one supply chain now, well before the final investment decision, because EPCI contractors tend to start building their bid and mobilisation teams long before a contract is formally signed. For anyone weighing a move out of oil and gas services, Berwick Bank is one more reason the renewables route into Aberdeen's job market keeps widening rather than narrowing.