GWO and GWEC sign two-year deal to power the global wind energy workforce

11 April 2022 – The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)  and the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) have signed a new two year agreement to map out workforce training needs in support of renewable energy development and meet the huge increase of jobs required to meet the global energy transition.

The two organisations have signed a new memorandum of understanding to leverage shared resources, including unique datasets, analytical and forecasting capabilities, which will provide valuable insights to all wind industry stakeholders.

Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council, said: “The wind energy industry has already created 1.2 million jobs worldwide according to IRENA, and this number will continue to grow as demand for wind energy increases with the global energy transition. We want to help the market answer challenging questions about where jobs will be needed most to meet demand and outline what training will be required to develop a workforce that is knowledgeable and sustainable to, quite literally, build the wind markets of tomorrow. This collaboration is the first step in helping to produce a coherent roadmap for wind energy jobs in the future global energy system, helping emerging markets to benefit from high-quality local job creation to contribute to a thriving green economy”.

Jakob Lau Holst, CEO of Global Wind Organisation, added: “The GWO Wind Industry Database (WINDA) contains the most comprehensive set of workforce training information in the world. Over 122,000 people are now trained to GWO standard at centres in nearly 50 countries.

“To support demand in new markets, the industry needs insight, forecasting and analysis. We are delighted to continue our partnership with GWEC to help make this a reality, matching workforce needs for training and delivering a powerful proposition for investors, policymakers, OEMs and other stakeholders”.

The next output of the collaboration will see GWO and GWEC produce its third annual report on job creation and workforce training needs in global offshore wind markets, to be released in Q3 2022.