Japanese Wind Technician Training Guidelines Unveiled

The Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA) will officially publish and release the guidelines in both English and Japanese towards the end of September 2024. The JWPA worked with Global Wind Organisation during 2023 and 2024 to describe the knowledge, skills and abilities required for entry-level wind technicians operating in the Japanese market. The resulting guidelines are based on the GWO Entry Level Wind Technician Framework.

As the second such set of training guidelines to reach publication after American Clean Power (ACP)’s collaboration with GWO, they give stakeholders a simple description of standardised training pathways for entry-level wind technician roles.

The goal of these guidelines is to provide a detailed analysis of how GWO training standards meet the needs of wind technicians working onshore and offshore in Japan, including mutual proposals to address any gaps in the existing training portfolio through future GWO standard releases.

With a declining labour force and rapid changes in lifestyles, needs and services, coupled with ambitious carbon neutrality goals, Japan needs a paradigm shift in the way it attracts, trains and retains its precious workforce. Graduates and professionals who look to make a career change from analogous industries need clear educational pathways that train entry level wind workers while recognising their existing skills. We see this collaboration with GWO as a necessary step forward to help us reach our goals.

Hitoshi Katayama, Director of JWPA

To develop the guidelines, JWPA led a working group of member representatives to analyse how GWO training meets the needs of Japanese wind technicians and convened an in-person workshop in Japan for the working group and GWO project development team to progress this analysis and align on inputs to the JWPA Guideline document.

The workforce is the backbone of renewable energy. In developing guidelines which direct entry-level workers towards the appropriate training, we can ensure that competency is gained through training to advance the industry while fostering a safe and effective workforce.

Julie Brown, Head of Training Development at Global Wind Organisation