North American Market Brief Forecasts Substantial Growth

The latest GWO North American Market Briefing forecasts high growth of the wind industry and the associated need for more standardised training. Both Canada and the United States have established policy commitments and great incentives that will allow the North American wind sector to accommodate significant demand for wind energy and technicians. GWO and GWEC’s recently published market forecasts published in the Global Wind Workforce Outlook (GWWO) offers the following main takeaways:

• Over 80,000 wind workers will need standardised training to install and maintain wind assets in North America by 2027.

• The workforce in scope for GWO training in North America will grow faster than the global average, driven by wind deployment in the USA.

• Training providers can expect to deliver GWO basic training to almost 1/3 of the total addressable wind workforce in North America by 2027.

The total number of C&I and O&M technicians employed across the United States is currently estimated at 60,000 people, but it is forecast to reach 77,500 people by 2027. Around 35,000 of the people in scope for GWO training between 2024 and 2027 in North America will be entry level workers, and employers are increasingly calling for them to receive basic industry standard safety and technical training. As a result, training providers and educators are expected to train an additional 65,600 workforce during the next five years.

GWO’s training standards are increasingly accepted across global wind markets, contributing to a safer and more competent workforce. GWO standards also enhance employers’ safety performance while providing a compelling business case for training providers. With the number of GWO certified training providers more than tripling and the number of GWO trained wind technicians growing eight-fold during the last five years, the growth trajectory is steep. To meet the needs of the increasing workforce, more GWO training capacity will be required by employers.

Wesley Witt, Senior Vice President of Health, Safety, Security and Environmental at RWE and Chair of GWO’s North America Committee, says:

"These are exciting time to be in the wind industry in North America. GWO and our community of training providers is a vital resource- primed to provide the safety & technical training new talent needs to propel their careers.”

To download the Guidelines: https://www.globalwindsafety.org/statistics/market-briefing-north-america