30 Jun 2021 GLOBAL WIND ENERGY COMPANY NORDEX ESTABLISHED ITS BIGGEST TRAINING CENTER IN İZMİR
The Nordex Group, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers, has expanded its Wind Energy Technical Training Center in Turkey’s western İzmir province, which was established in 2016 to train the company’s own technical staff. İzmir Technical Training Center has now become the biggest training center in Nordex’s global organization. In the center, new training programs for technical high school students are executed by Nordex in collaboration with the İzmir Development Agency and İzmir Provincial Directorate of Education.
There is an urgent need for skilled workers to meet the needs of Türkiye’s expanding wind energy sector, Nordex Türkiye’s General Director Habib Babacan told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.The current labor force is not on track to meet the growing needs of the sector that has the potential to double the current workforce to 30,000 over the next 15 years, Babacan said.
However, to alleviate the skills shortage, Nordex has expanded its Technical Training Center in Türkiye’s western İzmir province, dubbed as “the capital of wind”, and which is home to 1,635 megawatts (MW) of installed wind capacity, employing nearly 5,000 people.
The training center was established in 2016 to train the company’s own technical staff, instead of sending them to the company’s headquarters in Germany. Since its establishment, almost 3,000 people have been trained at the center and it has now become the biggest training center in Nordex’s global organization, Babacan said.
Nordex wants to promote the center not just for regional training but to expand its reach to support Nordex personnel internationally.
Its four large classrooms, simulation center in an area of 1,500 to 1,600 square meters with platforms to train at high altitudes has ensured it has become the biggest training center for the wind sector in the country.
– “We want to attract more people to the industry”
Türkiye’s wind energy industry has seen exponential growth, thanks to Turkish companies that are not only meeting local power demand but are also exporting wind energy equipment, such as turbine blades and towers.
Babacan wants to see more people in this sector and he says the training center is the next port of call for graduates from Türkiye’s reputable business high schools and universities to receive further training in turbine maintenance.
