EL RENO, OKLAHOMA — Wind turbine technicians are expected to be the fastest growing occupation in the country according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Oklahoma is one of the top states for wind energy production.
Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno is one of the only tech centers in the state that trains wind energy technicians.
CV Tech’s Wind Energy Program is five weeks long and provides 16 industry certifications,
“We go over a lot of topics in those five weeks…We kind of start off with a big emphasis on safety,” said CV Tech’s Wind & Solar Specialist, Dani Wood “Then later on, we get into some of the technical stuff.”
The program does not require any experience and is among a handful of institutions statewide who certify wind technicians,
“You don’t have to already know all of this stuff to get into it, that’s kind of what we’re here for,” Wood said, “That’s what a lot of these programs are here to do, is to give you that entry level information.”
Experts say now is the time to join the wind energy industry, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a huge demand for wind energy technicians over the next decade to maintain a growing inventory of turbines,
“My students who have been leaving my program so far have been averaging, typically in the like $25 to $28 an hour range,” said Wood, “It kind of depends on a lot of different things on the job that they get.”
Canadian Valley Technology Center’s next (free) orientation class is January 7.
The next class starts on January 13 and concludes February 14.
For more information on the Wind Energy Program, click here.