Wind Turbine Technician

The wind turbine technician will carry out a wide range of roles and is also the name given to the person responsible for building wind turbines (or the Wind Turbine Installation Technician). These roles can be onshore or offshore and are responsible for many different areas of the build and maintenance. Shifts are mostly 12 hours and 4 weeks on, 4 weeks off. Personnel will either stay in a “flotel” which is a floating accommodation block or will be shipped daily from shore to the wind installations. Some of the larger wind turbines are starting to be built with heli-decks on the top – however these are still rare. Responsibilities are varied and there are many roles within the title “installation technician” e.g. Electrical, Mechanical, Hydraulic, Bolting, Non Destructive Testing, Blade Repair and many more.

Although a background in the relevant trade is useful, it is possible to get a start with a hard work ethic and determination in these kinds of roles.

Courses and Training:

For this role there is no specified training, it will entirely depend on the job you are applying for. A range of training could be useful such as Rope Access, First Aid, Rigging and Electrical. It will however be critical to ensure you have the basic wind training as almost all the work in this sector is completed offshore. These certificates must be qualified by RenewableUK (RUK) and / or the Global Wind Organisation (GWO). The basic training is made up of:

• Sea Survival
• Fire Awareness
• First Aid
• Working at Height
• Manual Handling

Plus of course there is the specific training in the trade you are doing which we discussed earlier. It would be advisable to reach out to some companies and specific job roles to work out what training and qualifications you might need.