As the green transition accelerates, it’s not just the tech that’s changing, it’s the people building it. 

In this episode of Next Time Around, “From The Apprentice to Redefining the Energy Sector”, Scarlett Allen-Horton joins Lauren and Richard to talk about talent: who’s needed, who’s missing, and how energy employers are getting it wrong.

Scarlett runs Harper Fox Partners, a recruitment firm specialising in placing women and ethnic minorities in senior STEM roles. She’s also an Apprentice finalist, an engineer by background, and someone with a sharp eye for how fast the sector is moving. 

Scarlett brought insight and honesty to the episode, along with a clear sense of what’s possible.

Energy needs new skills, fast

For Scarlett, this shift isn’t theory, it’s the reality she’s been hiring for. The pandemic forced a pivot from aerospace and automotive into energy and green tech, and she hasn’t looked back. 

Now, demand is surging for skills in EV charging, circular energy and AI. But the talent pool is still catching up. Traditional energy roles are being rewritten, and whole new job titles are being invented in real time. 

“… We’re looking at grid modernization, carbon capture, and to be honest with you, there’s some specialists in these area, but there’s actually not that many specialists, because we haven’t needed [them] before.”

It’s a sector in flux, and that’s part of what excites her. But it also makes hiring harder. Employers want talent that doesn’t exist yet. And without more diverse perspectives at the table, they risk building the future with yesterday’s assumptions.

Scarlett’s seen this before. She compares the current wave of transformation in energy to the earlier shakeups in software and media: rapid, messy, but full of potential. The difference is that the stakes are higher, and the window to get it right is shorter.

Hiring for the future means hiring differently

Scarlett doesn’t sugar-coat the challenge. But she’s clear on what needs to happen.

“We’ve seen a lot more, I’ve seen anyway, a lot more cross-communication […] where there would have been, I think, businesses that perhaps have got their arms around their offering. And what’s happening, actually, people are collaborating more, trying to understand more, partnering more, to really drive industry forwards. Because there is a common goal there, and it’s exciting to see.”

First, start with the job specs. Too many still assume linear career paths or outdated credentials. Instead, think skills-first. What does the role actually require? Who might bring that from an adjacent industry or an unconventional background?

Second, be flexible. Richard shares his own experience on the impact of flexible working on Powerverse;

“In our leadership team, there’s three ladies, each of whom have children under the age of five. And I was with one of them, my CFO, in a meeting with my chairman yesterday evening, and we were on screen, and her little one was in the background. And this is all just normal now, and it wasn’t normal 10 years ago. And it just means that there’s an opportunity for talented people to do the jobs that they want to do in a way that there wasn’t before.”

It’s not a perk. It’s how modern work gets done. It’s also a tool for inclusion.

And finally, be real. Scarlett goes into more detail about that, too.

“There’s a lot of tick-boxing and there’s a lot of talk, [and then] there’s that going deeper. What are you actually doing, and what does that mean, and what impact have you had? Those are the kind of questions that I think candidates should be asking companies.”

People notice when the boardroom doesn’t match the brochure.

The grit behind the business

Scarlett’s story isn’t your typical founder tale. She didn’t just bootstrap a business, she built it while raising two daughters, navigating domestic abuse, and—on a whim—applying to The Apprentice with 15 minutes to spare.

“I don’t know what on earth made me think I’d just apply. And I did it, and I did it just there on the spot. I just applied quickly.”

She made it through the rounds until the show asked her to come on. That’s when reality hit.

“It would mean leaving my children for eight weeks. So I’d never left my children, two daughters, me and them going through all of this stuff together.”

Adding to the challenge, her children’s father had been in prison for nearly a decade.

“And their father was actually in prison […] So there was conversations that had to be had between the show and the system to enable me to do it.”

With a background of domestic abuse, Scarlett wasn’t sure she could do it.

“And because of that, and I’ve got a background of domestic abuse, I was absolutely [unsure] if I was going to be able to do it.”

It was a moment of raw honesty that cut through the usual corporate polish. Because under all the talk of grid tech and AI, the energy transition is still powered by people. 

And Scarlett’s story is a reminder that the people driving real change don’t always look like the ones we’re used to seeing at the top.

Building the future with the right people

At Powerverse, we know that good tech is only half the equation. To make energy cleaner, smarter and more accessible, we also need people building it who reflect the world they’re building it for.
Lauren echoes the earlier point about collaboration and finding the best talent, wherever it currently is.

“…there’s so much skill and innovation out there in a variety of different businesses that actually partnering together can really drive the best product forward.”

From cybersecurity to solar, the future of energy is collaborative, messy, and full of opportunity. We’re here to help make that complexity manageable for homes, for businesses, and for the teams shaping what comes next.

Final thoughts

Energy isn’t just driven by tech, but also by people. And as Scarlett makes clear, hiring better isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s how we solve harder problems, faster.

No one’s got it all figured out, but at Powerverse we’re building the tools to make it easier. Get in touch and see how.