Granite’s students conduct training using a GE 1.5-MW wind turbine, located adjacent to the North American Wind Research and Training Center at Mesalands Community College.
Granite Services International, an affiliate of GE. has expanded its wind technician training programs at Mesalands Community College’s North American Wind Research and Training Center in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Granite plans to train at least 400 wind technicians within the next six months at Mesalands Community College. The company conducts new hire trainings, summer intern trainings, and will now also hold their re-certification trainings for current employees, at Mesalands’ Wind Center.
“This is probably one of the top five facilities in the country, that we can do all of the training within Granite and GE. It’s fantastic!” said Rene Teerlinck about the partnership. Teerlinck is Granite’s Resource Manager, in charge of the hiring and staffing of employees for wind farms.
According to Granite, technicians are trained to rigorous standards and are deployed around the world.
Granite’s training program includes:
- CPR/First Aid certification
- New hire orientation
- Re-certification training
- Tower rescue training
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10 certification training
- Self-rescue training
- Wind technician internship program training, and a climb test.
Teerlinck said from January to June of this year, he will have approximately 250 students for the re-certification training, 150 students for the new hire training, and 15 students for the wind internship training program.
“Our affiliate GE, has basically forecasted within the next couple years, to add an additional 300 jobs. This will be in addition to the number of employees we already have now. We need more employees to support the work that we have between wind-turbine installation and maintenance, to customer support,” Teerlinck said.
This could be a reflection of the growing demands of the fastest growing career field in the nation, according to Bloomberg News.com.
Learn more about the program here.
Filed Under: News, Projects, Training
