Representing SSEN Transmission on the global stage: Sophia’s story

First seen in Utility Week, this piece features SSEN Transmission’s Sophia Ali, a Building Information Modelling Coordinator and WorldSkills 2026 Team UK contender.

“With great difficulty!” Sophia laughs when asked how she describes what being a Building Information Modelling (or ‘BIM’) Coordinator involves to the uninitiated. Perhaps inevitably, it’s easier for people to understand if you say you are an architect or a structural engineer. Nonetheless, Ali has a pretty good definition of BIM to hand for the layperson.

“The way I explain BIM is in terms of efficiency relating to data. If you build a house and a window frame breaks, you need to know who made it, how long it takes to manufacture, how much it costs, and so on. Being able to get that information quickly is even more important on large-scale projects like substations, where a lot of maintenance is required. So that’s how I would explain BIM.”

Ali, who has been working at SSEN Transmission since the turn of the year, hopes she will get more opportunities to show off her BIM expertise at next year’s 48th WorldSkills competition in Shanghai. She is part of the UK squad for architectural and structural modelling and hopes to gain a coveted place at the finals, meaning the chance to compete against 80 other countries in the world’s biggest skills competition.

Much like an athlete gearing up for a tournament, Ali is in WorldSkills training, which entails “lots of boot camps, working with nutritionists, performance psychologists – just being trained by the best people in the industry to try and get that one spot to go to Shanghai next year”. She is working on a mixture of technical and personal skills as well as team-building exercises. “It’s intense but rewarding, especially when I look back at how I have developed [through the preliminary stages].”

A TECHNICAL MINDSET AND INSPIRING ENGINEERS
Ali has a longstanding interest in technical things, she explains. “I was always fascinated by breaking things and putting them together again to understand how they worked. I kind of had a mind for that and seeing the little details and things which most people overlook.” This technical bent led to studying for HNC and HND qualifications in architectural design and technology at New College Lanarkshire. She then took a summer placement at SP Energy Networks as a BIM Modeler in 2023 before stints at a couple of design and engineering companies, where she developed her BIM and Autodesk Revit skills.

At SSEN Transmission, she is working on the “information management side of projects – making sure everyone is working collaboratively and efficiently and to the correct standards”. This involves everything from substations to overhead lines and underground cable projects, including using correct naming conventions, working in common data environments, helping produce pre-contract documentation, and developing project delivery requirements.

Ali was inspired by the example of Clare Montgomery, a computer-aided design expert at SSEN Transmission who does a lot of outreach work in Glasgow. “Thanks to Clare, I got to see what kind of work was going on here and found it fascinating. As I was exposed to the energy industry, I was taken aback by how much thought goes into getting us electricity, which we take for granted. Being part of that bigger process was something that really appealed to me.”

The chance to work on projects that will play a big part in decarbonising the economy also appealed. “The net-zero programme makes your job feel meaningful.” She says it’s important to be passionate about work. “There are a lot of young people that want to help create change, but don’t know where the opportunities are, which is why outreach is so important.”

She acknowledges that there is work to be done in terms of the adoption of BIM within the energy sector. “There are a lot of opportunities to share my knowledge. But I think it’s a really good time to join SSEN Transmission because I get to be part of that journey from the beginning.”