The college launched its renewable training courses in 2009 which were developed in partnership with several UK and European renewables training agencies and organisations to implement a European industry standard qualification for operational skills in the wind energy sector for both on and offshore.
The courses are validated by German based training institute BZEE and the Global Wind Organisation (GWO).
From February the college will run three renewables courses from the Blyth base. The Level 2 qualification is designed for those with no previous engineering background who wish to pursue a career in the wind energy sector. There are also two Level 3 courses aimed at trained electrical or mechanical engineers looking for a career change into wind energy, or engineers working in the wind energy sector who would like to upgrade their skills and qualifications.
The training facilities at the port include a state-of-the-art 27m high climbing tower for specific ‘working at height’ training and purpose built workshops housing two large dismantled turbines (Nacelles) for training student technicians in how to service and maintain the wind turbines. Combining the college training centre with all these facilities in one place will create a ‘wind hub’ training concept to ensure graduates are job ready. The courses reportedly have a great success rate with over 90 percent of graduates securing jobs in the wind industry.