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- Maintain and repair wind farm turbines on land and at sea
- You'll need problem-solving skills and to be comfortable working at height
- You could become an authorised technician
Wind turbines are large mechanical devices that convert wind energy into electricity. They are located in areas where there is a lot of wind. The structure is made up of three major components: a tower, three blades, and a nacelle, which is composed of an outer case, brakes, generator, and gearbox. Wind turbine technicians maintain and repair the various components of these structures.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Installing wind turbine towers on land or at sea
- Fitting electrical, mechanical and hydraulic equipment
- Testing turbine blades and control systems
- Carrying out planned maintenance work
- Finding faults and fixing them
- Recording job details and filling in safety reports
- Running safety checks on electrical substations and cables
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work in remote rural areas or at sea. Your working environment may be at height and outdoors in all weathers and you may need to wear protective clothing.
You'll need
You can do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in renewable energy engineering, electrical or mechanical engineering and electrical power engineering.
Demand for wind turbine technicians is predicted to grow over the next 10 years, with older wind farms being replaced or refurbished, as they come to the end of their working lives.
You can also do a college course, which can help you to get a trainee job with a wind turbine engineering company. Courses include a Level 3 Certificate in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or Level 3 Diploma in Maintenance Engineering Technology.
You can do an engineering technician, or maintenance and operations engineering technician, advanced apprenticeship.
Alternatively, you can also complete a higher apprenticeship in manufacturing engineering: wind generation. You'll usually need 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) including maths, English, science, design and technology, or equivalent qualifications, for an advanced apprenticeship.
You'll need to have a full UK or EU driving licence and pass background checks for this role. You'll also need safety training to work on wind turbines. This could include sea survival if you're working offshore. Employers will advise you on what's required.
You can apply directly for jobs if you've got qualifications and experience in electrical or mechanical engineering from another industry, or from the armed forces.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could become an authorised technician, with responsibility for supervising a technical team, and dealing with health and safety. With further training, you could work as an operations and maintenance manager, control systems engineer or energy engineer.