Growing Excitement, Expectations For Green Jobs Corps
March 2, 2009 by editor
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
Wind turbines across the US have created a need for schools to add courses preparing wind turbine mechanics and other green workers for the fast growing new technology.
When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, she can’t help but wonder about the view from the top, where blades the size of semi-trucks spin.
“Out here, you can see the wind turbines from 10 miles away,” she said. “Think about how far you’ll be able to see when you’re at the top.”
So, partly out of curiosity, partly because she wants to be part of something new, the 51-year-old is leaving behind a career of odd jobs and oil-field work.
She’s going back to school to become a wind turbine mechanic — one who’ll have to scale the turbines to make repairs.
Across the country, people like Bryer are looking to the renewable energy sector in hopes its “green-collar jobs” will offer them stability in this shaky economy. Some are signing up for community college or apprenticeship programs that train students to be wind turbine mechanics, solar panel installers, fuel-cell engineers or energy efficiency experts.
