Growing up and living in Aberdeen it’s not unusual to presume most people would look towards a job in the oil and gas sector.
As a 21-year-old it’s a career path Adele Slater found herself following.
But it wasn’t always the job she was hoping to do.
Having left school she went to Robert Gordon University to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer.
But following a three-month stint in London she knew it wasn’t right for her and she came back to the Granite City.
From fashion to oil and gas
It was then she joined and oil and gas company but just over a year later she was made redundant.
A victim of the downturn in 2014.
But now, more than 10 years later, Adele is running Breakwater Agency, her own successful marketing and events agency, proving there is life after oil and gas.
The 32-year-old said: “As part of my fashion degree I went down to London and I didn’t like it.
“I wanted to be a fashion designer until I realised that drawing wasn’t one of my strengths.
“I decided I wanted to come home and work in oil and gas.
“Through some guidance at university and working with my mentor Morven Mackenzie I soon realised that communication and relationship building is where my strengths lie.”
Oil and gas ‘a natural fit’
Adele did a masters in international marketing at RGU and started working full-time as a business development coordinator at Reef Subsea in June 2013.
However, nearly two years later the company, based in Altens, went in to administration.
She said: “It was one of the first companies to go.
“We went in to administration quite early in comparison to the amount of redundancies there was later on.
“When I joined it was peak oil and gas.
“If you are leaving university you are seeing all the jobs at the age of 21. Everybody was working in the industry and there was so much money going around.
“When I was at university it was all you could really see in Aberdeen. It was a natural fit.
“Oil and gas back then was insane. Everyone had such a good time.
“I think back to how lavish it was. Everyone seemed to have money to spend on big events.”
Career change
But when the downturn hit Adele knew it was time for a new direction.
She joined Knight Property Group in March 2015 as group marketing coordinator where she worked for nearly three years.
The former Banff Academy pupil said: “When the downturn hit I moved from oil and gas to property and it was probably one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.
“It was a real passion for me. Being made redundant took me out of my comfort zone.
“Before that I had been applying for jobs to leave Reef Subsea and every job had been in oil and gas.
“If anyone came to me with something that wasn’t oil and gas I just said no. I’d spent the last two years honing in on my skills and didn’t want to move.
“I never thought about leaving but when you have a mortgage at the age of 22 you have no choice but to look elsewhere.
“It was one of the best things to happen to me.”
Time to start Breakwater Agency
From there Adele made the move in to agency life and worked at Hampton and Big Partnership as head of events before being made redundant due to Covid.
Her next job was at Mission 10 where she worked for two years before making the decision to start her own business in June 2022.
She said: “For as long as I can remember I’ve always thought I’d be my own boss but never knew what I was going to do.
“Even from a young age I knew I wanted to build something that I felt connected with and then when I returned to work after Covid I knew this is where I wanted to be.
“It was an easy decision at the time. Running a business is not for everyone, it’s long hours and you have to really be committed, but I don’t regret it for a second.”
Former Macduff Primary School pupil Adele currently has one full-time and one part-time worker.
Next month Breakwater Agency is holding the Parent & Baby Show at P&J Live with more than 100 brands and industry experts there to provide guidance and advice to parents and parents-to-be.
‘Aberdeen is a village’
But Adele also continues to work with oil and gas clients.
She said: “The team is growing and we have a good mix. I’ve got oil and gas clients which keeps me with my roots.
“I’m lucky enough I still have the ability to work within the industry, without being directly employed.
“The industry has its up and downs and I can now spread myself across different industries.
“Oil and gas as has been a massive part of Aberdeen and it’s not over yet. I’ve recently been working with a start-up digital transformation company on implementing new technology and the oil and gas industry has been a big focus for us.
“Taking the leap from full time employment to fending for yourself can seem quite daunting but I’ve surrounded myself with a good network.
“I knew that if I didn’t like being on my own, or if for some reason it wasn’t working, I could reach out to my network and I’d be ok.
“They say that Aberdeen is a village, and I take that as a positive.
“There are some great people in this city and they are always looking to help each other out.”