Strengthening industry connections at Colloque Nationale 2026

Marking the 30th anniversary of France Renouvelables, this year's event saw over 3,000 participants gather to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing renewable energy development in France, including the importance of maintaining a skilled workforce to support future growth.

With Sergei Perapechka, Head of Stakeholder Relations, and Eduardo González Meneses, Network Development Manager, in attendance, it was an important opportunity to engage with employers, public education institutions and Training Providers to better understand the French training landscape and explore how standardised training can support the industry's evolving workforce needs.

Supporting the future wind workforce

Workforce development was an important theme throughout the event, with discussions pointing to the need to maintain investment in skills and training as France continues its energy transition.

With the ambitious plan of reaching 35–40 GW of onshore wind and 15 GW of offshore wind by 2035, our conversations highlighted the importance of maintaining a stable pipeline of renewable energy projects to support long-term workforce planning.  

Training Providers and employers also provided valuable insight into how they are currently using GWO standards and the opportunities to strengthen training pathways for new and existing technicians.

Equally, conversations with industry stakeholders reinforced the importance of collaboration between Training Providers, employers, and education institutions in building a skilled and competent workforce capable of supporting wind energy’s long-term growth.

Strengthening connections with education and training institutions

A particular highlight of GWO's participation was a roundtable discussion with representatives from France Renouvelables, public vocational education institutions and France Travail, the French national public employment service.  

The discussion explored opportunities to make GWO training more accessible and sustainable within France's vocational education system, including closer collaboration between public institutions and private Training Providers, better access to funding and recognition within the country’s national professional certification framework.

These conversations marked a positive step towards identifying practical ways to support training capacity and help more people develop the skills needed to enter the wind industry.

Continuing the conversation

The event was also a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships with the GWO community and wider industry stakeholders, while gaining a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the French market.

GWO looks forward to building on these discussions and continuing its collaboration with France Renouvelables and industry partners to support accessible, high-quality training and a safe, skilled workforce for the future of wind energy.

Thank you to France Renouvelables and everyone who connected with the GWO team in Paris!

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