Bristol Community College awarded $2 million from Community Project Funding to implement
innovative National Offshore Wind Institute
Bristol Community College was awarded $2 million from Community Project Funding (CPF) as part of the annual appropriations package in an “omnibus” bill. The spending bill is slated to head to President Biden’s desk for signing in the coming days.
Bristol’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) provides strategies to accelerate and support the workforce and supply chain for the wind energy sector including workforce skill development initiatives such as the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) trainings and its required Basic Safety Training.
“Bristol Community College is grateful for the congressional delegations’ tireless support of Bristol’s NOWI. This funding supports the creation of a well-trained and highly skilled workforce,” said Dr. Laura. L Douglas, President, Bristol Community College. “The NOWI will provide critical training and education for the offshore wind industry, positioning Massachusetts as a national leader through this innovative world-class training center.”
“Offshore wind is the energy of the future and the South Coast is already the national leader,” said Congressman Bill Keating. “This funding will assure that our local workers are trained and ready for the high-paying jobs coming from this expanding industry. I’m proud to have worked with Bristol Community College, SMAST, the City of New Bedford and so many others over the past decade to get us to this point where offshore wind is a reality.”
“Bristol Community College will be a training ground for the next generation of offshore wind leaders, powering energy development and creating jobs in the Bay State,” said Congressman Jake Auchincloss.
The CPF of $2 million will enable Bristol’s NOWI to address offshore wind industry workforce gaps, as well as industry and supply chain needs.
NOWI will offer a comprehensive array of required industry training to ensure the local and regional workforce has the skills, competencies and certifications required for careers in the offshore wind industry. NOWI, with its globally recognized partner Maersk Training, will offer a full array of GWO modules needed by the offshore and onshore wind developers and other companies related to offshore wind. The GWO training modules will include GWO Basic Safety, GWO Basic Technical, GWO Advanced Rescue, GWO Enhanced First Aid, GWO Blade Repair and GWO Standard Slinger Signaller/Rigger Signal Person. These additional modules round out a comprehensive training program to support the health and safety training needs of the offshore wind sector.
With the emerging offshore wind sector poised to create thousands of job opportunities across a wide range of industries, NOWI plays a critical role to develop a regional workforce and local infrastructure to support the offshore wind industry and the resulting economic development. Massachusetts, due to its proximity to the natural resource of high levels of steady and consistent wind, is attracting projects and international wind energy companies with strategies to enter the United States market, opening an opportunity to recruit and support this burgeoning industry.
For more information about Bristol Community College’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI), please visit www.nowi.org.