Why the world might need more wind techs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wind turbine technicians (“wind techs”) may be among the fastest-growing occupations, projected to grow 24% from 2012 to 2022. While this may sound like a surprising figure, consider that 15 million average American homes today are powered by wind energy. With renewable energy expected to grow even more in the coming decade, it is essential that the U.S. builds a highly skilled workforce to install and maintain new wind turbines.

Siemens, a company that has been at the forefront of the wind energy industry, recognized early on there was a great need for wind-specific education and training programs. As a company, they provide service and maintenance for more than 3,100 installed turbines in the Americas and 7,600 turbines globally.  Siemens is also the global leader in the deployment of offshore wind development. With this demand in mind, Siemens built training facilities across the world, allowing them to better equip future workers with the expert guidance and hands-on experience that will allow them to handle everything from routine service issues to bigger, more challenging fixes that would otherwise cause the turbine to shut down. All of its training facilities are certified by the Global Wind Organization (GWO), empowering Siemens to educate and train wind energy workers according to the highest industry standards for basic safety training. Energy from renewable sources is playing an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy and in developing technologies and solutions to meet the nation’s long-term energy needs.  As such, Siemens is continuing to support the growth of the wind industry through partnerships with local colleges and universities to provide much-needed technical education and training.

Siemens recently opened a state-of-the-art wind service training center in Orlando- the first of its kind in the U.S. The center, which will host more than 2,400 trainees a year, makes it possible for future workers to simulate the work that typically happens at 300 feet, allowing them to safely practice at the ground level. Two full-size nacelles (the generator portion of a wind turbine), three 30-foot high climbing towers, ladder structures, electrical and hydraulic modules, and a service crane station are located within the center, making training, safety and rescue simulations as realistic as possible. In addition to providing training for thousands of jobs across the country, the center creates 50 full-time positions on-site and support for Orlando’s area hotels, restaurants and retail establishments. Tour the facility:

“As wind energy has become a mainstream source of power generation, the continued reliable performance of these turbines is critically important to meeting future energy demand,” said Randy Zwirn, CEO of Siemens Energy’s global Service Division. “As we work to meet these needs, this new, advanced training center in the U.S. will help us ensure that our wind service technicians receive the highest standard of technical and safety training.”

Kevin McCarty, a U.S. Navy veteran and now a technical training manager for Siemens, says the facility emphasizes safety first and foremost and that each trainee leaves with not only a unique set of technical skills, but also a viable career path in a growing industry. “Many of our trainees, like me, are military veterans,” said McCarty.  “They bring logistics experience and a sense of discipline that suits the wind energy environment where technicians work at heights exceeding 80 meters, in potentially challenging weather conditions, and in sometimes remote locations. The training we provide here is the best in the world and is designed to ensure our technicians are well equipped to work on some of the most advanced wind energy technology available in the safest manner possible.  It’s certainly an exciting career path.”

Siemen’s training facility in Orlando is one of four Siemens wind service training facilities in the world, joining Brande, Denmark; Bremen, Germany; and Newcastle in the United Kingdom.

*Photo courtesy of Living Shasta Photography