GWO training

The Global Wind Organisation maintains a set of training standards for the wind industry. Basic Safety Training covers working at height, first aid, manual handling, fire awareness and, offshore, sea survival. Basic Technical Training covers mechanics, electrical work and hydraulics. Certificates are internationally recognised and valid for two years.

GWO is in practice the entry ticket to a wind farm. Without valid modules a technician does not board the transfer vessel, whatever their experience. For employers it is also the only standard that means the same thing across national borders.

What GWO does not cover is the turbine the technician will climb into tomorrow. The standard is manufacturer-independent; the fault is not. Service organisations therefore supplement GWO with type-specific training on their own fleet, and that is precisely the part that changes with every new model, and so has to be maintainable.