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Behind the Hard Hat: Meet the leaders of the energy transition
Laura Marks “hates” being the centre of attention. Yet in a sector that needs vocal leaders, she steps forward anyway, motivated by the belief that her work changes lives. As Decarbonisation Project Manager within United Infrastructure’s Social Infrastructure team, she operates at the heart of a company she describes as “crucial in supporting the whole of the UK in its energy transition”.
Creativity has been a constant throughout Laura’s life. From a young age she loved design, particularly woodwork. That early spark now informs her approach to innovation in the retrofit sector, through her roles as Innovation Chair for the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) and Innovation Champion for United Infrastructure. She credits her creative thinking for her ability to embrace new ideas, explore new ways of working, and champion solutions that drive real change.
Learning has been “paramount” to Laura’s career journey. Her first role in the energy efficiency industry was in a call centre, where the lack of soft skills training planted the seed for her views on how to improve workforce development. “It shouldn’t just be ‘learn this system’; it should be ‘learn this system and think about why you're using the system and who it’s for’”.
Later on, before joining United Infrastructure, she completed a retrofit coordinator course that was intensive and reading-heavy, leaving her questioning whether she truly felt prepared for the role. “I actually came away thinking: Do I feel like I could be a retrofit coordinator?”. That style of training almost put her off. “I needed those lived skills, or at least a half-decent webinar or an opportunity to speak to other people, and that was lacking.”
These first-hand experiences are behind Laura’s calls for integrating varied learning formats, overlooked skillsets and practical application into sector training.
Laura is clear about the areas where the sector must develop if it is to meet the Net Zero agenda while improving the quality of work and resident experience. These include on-the-job exposure and application opportunities for new Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) and Retrofit Assessors (RAs), soft skills training for supply chain partners to support resident engagement, and improving administrative support and PAS-informed compliance skills to reduce inefficiencies.
Laura is a strong believer in the necessity of convening experts and championing collective action. For Laura, progress only happens when people work together, share knowledge and challenge existing practices. “We need to get people together to champion change and actually get it done, rather than talking about it.”
Clearly, Laura’s core motivation is the impact of her work. “I believe we’re doing the right thing and I believe the work we do has impact: that is my motivator. It allows me to get on stage, and to step out of my comfort zone.” Laura encourages others to identify their own motivator and use it to drive their efforts. “If you’ve got your motivator, everything else feeds into it.”
Her other advice to newcomers and colleagues is simple: find people to learn from, collaborate with, and especially ask questions to, even if they feel “stupid”. As Laura urges, “don’t be scared to look stupid sometimes; that’s how you learn.”
Laura’s energy and passion for her work are palpable, which is why, despite her stage fright, the public speaking requests aren’t going to stop anytime soon. But, Laura has learned to embrace them. “I see the bigger picture. I have to get over myself and do it, because it's the right thing to do.”
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