A new wind training center in Maryland that supports both onshore and the burgeoning offshore wind industry is open for business after receiving approval from the Global Wind Organization (GWO).
The new center was developed by ARCON Training Center, along with the UK’s leading wind trainer, AIS Training – part of the 3T Energy Group. The facility is located in Salisbury, Maryland at an existing ARCON facility.
ARCON said the center passed the comprehensive GWO audit process and is now approved to offer:
- GWO Basic Safety Training – a mandatory requirement for anyone working in the global wind industry
- GWO Working at Height
- GWO Manual Handling
- GWO Fire Awareness and
- GWO First Aid
ARCON said it plans to offer GWO Sea Survival courses in a short time. Sea survival is the added module required for personnel working offshore.
The new training facility is home to a 24-foot high training tower, climbing and rescue platforms and an open area for manual handling training, a fire awareness training structure and area, as well as newly equipped classrooms, office space and communal areas. AIS Training, which is part of the 3t Energy Group, is the UK’s largest wind training provider, with one in five of the wind industry’s workers choosing to train at its Renewable Energy Training Centers of Excellence in Newcastle and Aberdeen in the UK, according to the company. Personnel from AIS Training helped to design the new center, develop the course portfolio, train the instructors and supported to successfully obtaining the GWO wind industry accreditation.
Originally planned for April last year, completion of the center was delayed by the global pandemic but is now open with full COVID-19-safe measures in place.
Katarina Ennerfelt from ARCON Training Center said: “We are delighted and extremely proud to have gained the highly coveted GWO-approval, which allows us to now offer industry-accredited training for the fast-growing U.S. wind industry for the very first time.
“The growth and positive impact that this opportunity will have for the Eastern Shore of Maryland is limitless. We have always pushed and advocated for jobs and continued education in the trade and labor market and to be part of something that will create thousands of jobs and opportunities for people in the Maryland and Delmarva area is truly an amazing feeling. We have been a proponent of Offshore Wind for years and all the benefits renewable energy will bring not only to the state of Maryland but hopefully as a springboard to the rest of the country.”
Lead image caption: Delegates training on the Working at Height structure at ARCON’s newly opened GWO certified wind training facility.
