Wind Technician Training a Growing Interest at Trade Schools

It's an exciting time for new technology, especially in the field of energy production. Businesses everywhere are investing in new ways to produce cleaner and greener energy, and wind energy is on the top of the list. At the Cleveland Examiner, reports are that ADI has received over $150,000 this year from the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District for help in financing the development and manufacture of a "wind turbine gearbox prototype;" meanwhile on the west coast, The Business Journal reports that Fresno is poised to become a new "powerhouse" of alternative energy resources. As technology is built, workers and technicians to maintain these new structures are going to be in hot demand, and trade schools across the country are picking up the slack.

The New York Times green report states that vocational schools nationwide are adding green degree options to their repertoire. According to a representative from the American Wind Energy Association, students can now choose from over 100 options for degrees related to renewable energy in colleges right now, and over 80 of those degrees were developed within the past two years. That last piece of information isn't surprising -- the earliest wind technician training course to date was started in only 2004, at Iowa Lakes Community College with an enrollment of just 15. Today, the article puts its enrollment at 102.

There is good reason for the recent rush in enrollment for environmental degrees: not only are they the new wave of technology (always a good thing to be well-schooled in), but they are proving lucrative even in today's shaky economy. According to Business Week, wind turbine technicians earn a median pay of $53,600, ranking 12th on their list of 21 environmentally friendly jobs of the future. Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for wind energy developer Iberdrola Renewables, told New York Times that, regarding jobs in wind technology, "there's been quite a bit of hiring even in this economy." Stable, profitable, eco-friendly careers that colleges -- and students -- can't get enough of? Sounds perfect in every way.