Offshore wind is an emerging global industry, with its workforce (along with solar energy industry) growing at 20% annually, according to a recent Environmental Defense Fund report. Moreover, it indicated that both solar and wind industries are creating jobs 12 times faster than the rest of the U.S. economy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also said that wind turbine technician is the fastest-growing profession in the country, and projected that it would have an anticipated growth rate of 108% between 2014 and 2024. It had a median pay of $53,880 per year ($25.91 per hour) in 2017.

This employment boom in the offshore wind industry would be requiring “trained and qualified workers to manufacture, construct, operate, and maintain wind turbines,” according to the Department of Energy. In addition, the country would need “skilled scientists and engineers who can develop the next generation of wind power technologies.” A report estimated that the country may need “more than 50,000 university-educated professionals with advanced degrees to support wind energy development by 2030.”

In 2012, the National Skills Assessment of the U.S. Wind Industry was conducted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, providing the first comprehensive overview of the wind industry’s domestic workforce. The DOE also introduced the WINDExchange platform, part of which provides information about higher education and continuing education wind programs or training located throughout the United States with its Wind Energy Education and Training Programs map.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $15 million to fund two initiatives that will promote clean energy workforce development and training programs on State University of New York (SUNY) campuses.

The U.S. Army also reported that the Fort Benning Career Skills Program at Fort Benning, Georgia, co-launched a new 28-day course called Renewable Energy and Communications Tower Technician Program, which is designed to “help transition soldiers and veterans into entry-level positions in communication towers, wind energy, and other alternative energy industries.”

Just recently, the University of Delaware held its first Offshore Wind Skills Academy classes. It is the first offshore wind skills training program in the United States to focus on professionals and managers. According to the university, “The academy is designed to help all kinds of professionals, in the industry or looking to enter it, build their skills and increase the capacity of the U.S. energy sector to build out the many offshore wind farms that will be required by state laws and mandates already passed in several northeastern states.”