Record year for wind energy safety as GWO Trained Workforce passes 122,000 in 2021

Global Wind Organisation (GWO), a non profit body representing the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers and owner/operators has today published its Annual Report 2021, Building A Global Community of Safety and Training, showing a 21% growth in the size of the GWO Trained Workforce, reaching a total of 122,573 people (2020: 100,052).

GWO strives to create an injury free working environment in wind by ensuring workers receive a standardised, basic minimum level of training. The organisation’s long term strategy, Safety without Borders, aims to grow the availability of courses, supported by quality assurance and a growing portfolio of safety and technical training standards fit for use on any platform.

During 2021, 82 new training providers certified, bringing the global network to a total of 444, spread across 48 countries. 

Meanwhile, GWO training, particularly in Asia, North America and South America has been growing faster relative to the rest of the world.

Jakob Lau Holst, CEO of Global Wind Organisation, explains: “2021 has been another year of successes for GWO and our growing community. Despite the challenges we all faced in the continuing pandemic, safety training in the wind industry has continued to thrive. Our 2021 Annual Report tells just a small part of the global story created by the many people from our members to the individual technicians who together make real the promise of the green energy transition.”

Paul Robbins, Chair of the Global Wind Organisation Executive Committee & Chief H&S Specialist at Vestas, adds: “With 82 new GWO certified Training Providers in 2021, we depend a lot on GWO training providers to deliver training that will keep our technicians’ safety skills updated and fulfilling, and I am happy to see GWO training providers have really stepped up when our industry needed them most. This resulted in almost 320,000 GWO courses being completed last year, an amazing feat that I would like to thank and congratulate the entire network for their work in achieving.”

• View the GWO Annual 2021 Annual Report Here

About GWO

GWO is a non-profit group of wind turbine owners and wind turbine manufacturers, committed to the creation and adoption of standardized safety training and emergency procedures.

Independent training providers deliver GWO-certified training to technicians and students worldwide. There are currently eleven GWO training standards, containing a total of 30 modules. For more information on GWO standards, visit this page.

Training records are created when a GWO standard course is passed and completed by a participant. These records are uploaded and stored in the GWO WINDA database, allowing workers to transfer their skills to new employers, reducing frictional costs and eliminating retraining of basic skills.

GWO member companies:

Acciona, Avangrid, CGN Wind Power, CRRC, Cubico Sustainable Investments, Enel Green Power, Enercon, Envision, Equinor, GE Renewable Energy, Goldwind, Iberdrola, The Nordex Group, Ørsted, RWE Renewables, Shanghai Electric, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, SSE, Vattenfall and Vestas.