Training Provider Group
Last year, I’m pleased to say, we saw real structural development of the Committee in terms of both the industrialisation of standards and shifting to a more flexible, agile way of working. Improvements which flowed out into the standard’s working groups and, of course, the Secretariat’s development work.
The real stand out in 2021 for me was the visible progress made in the COHE and Lift Standards which will really take us to the next level. Building the common ground between multiple stakeholders, national regulations and the variety of (especially lift manufacturers) technical requirements was never going to be easy but the pragmatic approach taken has paid dividends. These standards will be absolute game changing at the operational level.
The committee is really excited about the new competency development framework programme currently in scope. This will create a framework for robust and user-friendly pathways to help skilled workers transition in from other sectors. I’ve high expectations that this timely project will facilitate the onboarding of new talent our industry needs.
John Barrie, Chair of GWO Training Committee, Global Head of Training, Vestas Service
The governance of the GWO’s compliance to internal code of conduct as well as best practices are vital for GWO’s success. A key priority of the committee is supporting the assurance of the standards. While 2021 did include some compliance issues with both training providers and certifiers, the committee used these cases as reference for establishing administrative practice for processing complaints and nonconformities.
In addition it’s been the GWO’s Audit and Compliance Committees continuing priority to maintain and further the governance aspects behind the delivery of high quality safety training. Delivering important changes in relationships within our training community via the two Requirement documents, their related auditor qualification standards and training and were priorities in 2021.
During the Spring-Summer GWO rolled out the WINDA 3.2 update which streamlined how training providers, auditors and certification bodies interact with each other and with GWO. These provisions were defined in new versions Requirements for Training Providers & Requirement for Certification Bodies launched this year. We were clear we needed to offer benefits all round, such as potential for lower certification costs training providers, while clearly creating a stronger system of mutually beneficial exchanges.
To support the strategy and ensure GWO’s remains relevant and competitive a high focus must be kept on how best to align safety training competencies of workers transitioning into the wind industry and finding further ways to support consistently high level of training quality while rapidly growing its availability.
Jesper Bagge Hansen, Chair of GWO Audit & Compliance Committee, Head of QHSE Assurance & QHSE Enterprise Risk in Orsted
At the heart of GWO’s relationships with the wind community is the WINDA global database. This was designed with the primary purpose of recording and giving assurance on the status of GWO certified training providers and the participants on GWO certified training courses.
As a global company, SGRE relies on the standardised training product - applicable no matter where in the world - that GWO provides. There’s no way we (or any other member) could achieve the necessary competencies at local market rate all by ourselves. With GWO standards we also gain tangible proof of safety competencies for our customers and through our value chain.
It’s always worth remembering how different the world would be if we didn’t have the mobility of workforce GWO standards facilitate. As a forum where members, training providers and training participants can build consensus and seek compromise, GWO plays a vital role in removing global barriers. But national requirements do still exist and where learning outcomes are the same, bridging these recognitions remains key for GWO.
GWO adds immense value to the standards training market - I’m in no doubt. As I see it, the two challenges for GWO are; how does the organisation advance the case for truly global standards and how does it deliver a truly global footprint?
Jacob Fredriksen, Head of Global Training, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
In 2021, 82 new training providers joined the GWO community, reaching a total of 444 GWO certified training providers, spread across 48 countries. The GWO community trained over 80,000 people and issued over 316,000 training records.
Explore the globe with your mouse and discover the amount of training done in 2021 near you.
Europe remains the largest market for GWO training. and while growth continues. By the end of 2021 there were 297 GWO certified training providers (+46 in 2021) and 217,611 training records were completed by 54,749 participants.
Training provider certifications increased in Spain (+9) France (+8) and Poland (+6). As in previous years, UK based training providers lead the way in Europe with 11,095 participants and 50,075 training records completed. This was followed closely by Spain (8,799 participants and 35,173 training records) and Germany (8,027 participants and 29,035 training records).
GWO growth in Africa has begun to gain pace. In 2021, one more training provider joined the GWO community and overall, training more than doubled (134%) from 2,363 training records completed in 2020 to 5,535 in 2021. South Africa’s six GWO certified training providers trained 1,358 participants suggesting strong local demand.
The first GWO training provider of the Middle East was certified in Egypt this year. Just months later, over 500 training records have been issued to 125 course participants.
The recent trend to a higher proportion of training occurring outside Europe continued in 2021 demonstrating how the GWO community is becoming more global. In 2021, only 69% of GWO training records were issued by training providers in Europe, a decrease of 4% from the previous year. GWO training, particularly in Asia, North America and South America has been growing faster in the last few years relative to the rest of the world. The countries that have grown the most in the last four years are Taiwan - Province of China, Pakistan, Argentina, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Chile, United States of America, Greece, Canada.
The Asia Pacific region includes both Asia and Oceania and it represents 11% of the total GWO training (+1% over 2020). Most of the GWO training of the region is conducted in Asia. In 2021, 10,294 course participants completed 28,186 certificates (+67% compared to the certificates completed in 2020). 17 new GWO training providers were certified during 2021, reaching a total of 58 certified GWO training providers in Asia. The largest markets were India (4,103 course participants and 9,829 certificates issued), Taiwan – Province of China (1,643 course participants and 5,726 certificates issued), and China (2,131 course participants and 4,969 certificates issued).
In Oceania, GWO training is present only in Australia and New Zealand. Australia welcomed a new training centre in 2021, for a total of nine GWO certified training providers in the country. In New Zealand, there is only one GWO training provider. In 2021, the GWO training in both countries involved 1,954 course participants for a total of 6,829 certificates completed (+ 39% over 2020).
The Americas contributed to 18% of all GWO training records issued globally in 2021 (+3% over 2020). North America surpassed South America in the number of training records issued during 2021, completing 25,874 certificates versus 24,219. Central America (including Mexico) also saw an increase of 19% in the training records issued in 2021 versus 2020 (8,067 in 2021 and 6,801 in 2020). The exponential training growth in North America (+78% compared to 2020) is mainly located in the United States where 5,161 participants completed 23,940 GWO training records, on average 4.6 training records per person. [LINK TO VESTAS MERIT STORY] In Canada, 567 participants completed 1,934 training records, with an average of 3.4 records per person.
The GWO community in the Americas not only expanded in the number of participants, but also in the number of GWO certified training providers. In the USA, five more training providers were certified to deliver GWO courses last year, reaching a total of 28 GWO training providers in the region, corresponding to 6% of the global community. In South America, Brazil welcomed 10 new GWO certified training providers and Colombia one, for a total of 31 GWO training providers (7% of the global community). Central America maintained its 13 GWO certified training providers, representing 3% of the global community.
