April 2019 – PRESS RELEASE
TechCollege recently hosted a variety of organisations from Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Ireland who have a common goal in mind: to consider the possibilities of harmonisation of education and training for the offshore wind energy sector.
TechCollege recently hosted a variety of organisations from Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Ireland who have a common goal in mind: to consider the possibilities of harmonisation of education and training for the offshore wind energy sector.
This VET Wind II project led by Noorderpoort College from the Netherlands and funded by the ErasmusPlus programme, enjoys an exceptional group dynamic and lively discussion around the current landscape of offshore wind energy education across partner countries.
Gorm Vestergaard of TechCollege said, “We were proud to showcase our unique approach to partnering with key industry players in the wind energy sector in a way that benefits both our college and students and crucially, meets the needs of industry. We have worked extremely hard to build trust, a solid reputation and positive outcomes through the delivery of composites training that meets a real and tangible need of industry”.
In addition to workplace visits to Siemens and Vesta plants, partner representatives focused on one of the key themes of the project – health & safety in the offshore wind sector. Summarising the conversation, Johnny Gaelens of Syntra said, “One of the challenges our group research has found is that while industry requirements in terms of health & safety training are standard, the delivery of the training is different across different countries. This poses a challenge for education and training providers on how they can feed into the process, which industry feedback has indicated is vital and welcome. The fundamental question is how can this be delivered in a way that is consistent and transferable across European countries?”
Dick van der Plas, Technical Director of Noorderpoort concluded by saying, “Partnership research projects like this VET Wind II project are a key way for our organisation, our staff and ultimately our students to broaden perspective, identify differences in approaches from country to country and learn from other like-minded people. This is certainly a dynamic project group and I complement TechCollege on being exceptional hosts.”
Meeting host, Gorm Vestergaard of TechCollege, Aalborg concluded by saying, “We have been delighted to demonstrate our close connections with the wind energy industry in our composite training centre for blade manufacturing. Through this project we have learned that different countries are at different stages of development. It is important that we share experiences of what works well in order that together we contribute to positive developments in the offshore wind sector”.
Ends
Notes to Editor: The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The VET WIND II project is funded by the ErasmusPlus project.