Workforce Training and Education

The United States needs a skilled and qualified wind energy workforce to produce domestic clean power. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that wind turbine service technicians will be the fastest growing job in a decade with 108% growth rate. Vital industry positions include researchers, scientists, engineers, as well as trade workers, educators, transportation workers, business and sales forces, and many others.

Due to the growing demand for jobs in the wind energy sector, there are many workforce training and education resources available for those interested in beginning or advancing their careers.

Wind Energy Education and Training Programs

This map shows the location of wind energy education and training programs in the United States. Find programs at community colleges, universities, and other institutions. You may need to zoom in to see institutions that appear to overlap within an area (such as multiple institutions within one city).

To Navigate the Map

On the map below or in a full-size window, you can:

• Use the button at the bottom to show the legend, where you can customize different elements of layers being displayed: the “Legend” column shows what’s visible whereas the “Interactive column allows you to change the filters to show only community colleges, for example.
• Click “Map Layers” on the bottom of the map to view and toggle on and off different layers (such as specific program topics [like offshore wind energy], wind resources, and the U.S. wind turbine database).
• Click icons under each “Map Layers”, such as the Table icon to view a table of all the programs/data within that layer, the “I” icon to learn about that layer, and the slider icon to compare two layers at the same time.
• Click on individual dots on the map to view program information in a pop-up box; click on the box-shaped icon on the top bar to move this to the side of your screen and the “X” to close it.

Download the full spreadsheet of data used to generate the map from this public Box file.

Explore the Map

Add Education and Training Programs

To add your wind energy program or training class to this map, please email WINDExchange and include the web address of your program.

Workforce Training and Education Resources

These resources provide additional information about wind energy workforce training and education.

Wind Career Map

Explore various jobs in the wind industry, learn what employers look for, and see potential routes to career advancement.

The Wind Energy Workforce in the United States: Training, Hiring, and Future Needs

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory published this report to provide a national assessment of the wind industry workforce and hiring needs and to uncover educational pathways that would help close any gaps. In the report, researchers identified a notable disparity: students are graduating with degrees specific to the wind industry, but they’re having difficulty getting hired. At the same time, the wind industry is reporting difficulty in finding qualified applicants. This gap between students and industry highlights the need for increased awareness about wind energy occupations and future analysis on training opportunities that are needed to fill the rising demand for new workers to support the industry.

A National Skills Assessment of the U.S. Wind Industry in 2012

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory published this report to allow the private sector, educational institutions, and federal and state governmental organizations to make informed workforce-related decisions based on data and future projections.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook: Wind Turbine Technicians

This site offers quick facts about a career as a wind turbine technician, including median pay, required education, and projected numbers of jobs.