Texas wind energy firms need more techs. Can they get students interested without state support?

Sneha Dey | Source: San Antonio Express News | Posted 04/18/2024

SWEETWATER — Sitting in the football stadium bleachers of his West Texas high school, Steven Vasquez used to look past the flatlands and watch the wind turbines spin. Even after kickoff, he would stay entranced by the red lights atop the turbines, blinking like a heartbeat.

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Sitting in the football stadium bleachers of his West Texas high school, Steven Vasquez often watched the wind turbines spin, sparking his fascination with how they generate electricity. This fascination led him to pursue a career in the wind energy industry, eventually enrolling in a wind turbine technician program at Texas State Technical College. Growing up in an area surrounded by wind turbines, Vasquez's dream of working in the wind energy sector was nurtured by the scholarships wind companies offered local students.

Despite the increasing demand for wind turbine technicians in Texas, there is a shortage of qualified candidates like Vasquez. The Texas State Technical College offers a specialized wind technician program in collaboration with industry experts, but the lack of interest from students in other parts of the state has hindered the establishment of similar programs elsewhere. Wind companies are now taking the initiative to develop in-house training programs and actively recruit students to address the workforce gap in the wind energy sector.

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Source Link: https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/texas-wind-energy-needs-technicians-state-support-19385860.php

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Texas wind energy firms need more techs. Can they get students interested without state support?

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