SPONSORS OF COMPETENCY TRAINING FEATURE
DEMAND
Despite the global downturn, the wind energy industry is seeing substantial market growth with the construction of onshore and offshore wind farms continuing apace. To match the expansion of wind energy, the sector has an increasing demand for skilled personnel who can ‘hit the ground running’.
EDUCATION SECTOR EXPANSION For this reason, skills training is also seeing a significant expansion in the education sector. Ten years ago, there were relatively few courses in the field of renewable energy whereas today there are scores.
ACADEMIC AND PRACTICAL BREADTH Such courses must provide a degree of academic rigour to ensure students have a solid grounding in the areas to which they will be exposed in their jobs, but also there should be a vocational and practical angle to such courses. For example, students should know how wind speed varies over terrain and what theory can be used to extrapolate values spatially and temporally.
FOR SKILLED PERSONNEL WHO CAN ‘HIT THE GROUND RUNNING’
IT CAPABILITY
They should also be able to use the software tools widely applied in industry which automate the application of the underlying theory. Such training can be applied by partnerships between universities and the commercial wind energy sector.
Academics provide the theoretical underpinning and invited industrial lectures are able to give the real life experience so vital to give students an insight into the everyday challenges of the sector to which they aspire.
UNIVERSITY/INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP This university/industry partnership has several benefits: it gives university courses sufficient breadth and depth to attract students; it gives students a well-rounded and industry relevant education; it ensures that students are equipped with the required skills to ensure a smooth and rapid transition into employment in the sector; and it gives industry an opportunity to recruit the best graduates.
UNIVERSITY BENEFITS One of the added benefits for universities is seeing the best and brightest students returning to give guest lectures after having secured employment in the renewables sector.
From student to lecturer in a matter of a few years! Of course, the other dimension to universities is the leading edge research which they provide to society. To ensure relevance to the industrial sector, all engineering schools worth their salt must work in partnership with companies.
Those groups working in the wind energy sector are no exception. Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching courses provide fertile ground for new research with the requirement that students carry out a project as part of their course. This gives an opportunity for ‘pump-priming’ research without the need for a formal research grant. Such projects benefit both the university and industry.
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Education and training are the lifeblood of the skilled sectors. Partnerships between universities and industry to ensure courses remain fresh and relevant are vital to ensure that we meet the demands of the low-carbon energy sector and provide the people needed to ensure we have a sustainable future.
Simon Watson Loughborough University
www.lboro.ac.uk/crest
82
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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