North America leads global growth in standardized training for wind turbine techs

Demand from major wind energy employers for standardized safety training has led to a major increase in the use of Global Wind Organisation (GWO) standards in North America.

The training, which covers basic safety and basic technical skills for one of the fastest growing jobs in America, almost doubled in 2019, with training providers across key wind states like Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Wisconsin completing over 8000 courses last year.

Much of the growth stems from a concerted effort by major wind energy employers including GE Renewable Energy, Avangrid Renewables and Vestas, to encourage more of the standardized GWO training to be made available in North America.

Together,those companies formed the GWO North America Committee in 2019, to collaborate as an industry and bring the standards into the U.S.A and Canada. Year-over-year in North America, the number of training courses completed increased to 8,003 in 2019 from 3,920 the year earlier. The figures come from the GWO Annual Report 2019, which is published today.

“Leaders across North America see the value of standards in the wind industry,especially as the need for talent grows by leaps,” says Brian Walencik, Chairman of the GWO North America committee and EHS Leader for GE Wind, Onshore.  “I thank GWO training providers for helping to deliver safety for the industry and each individual technician.”

Picture courtesy of Nordex Acciona/The Nordex Group