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Windy future
Published 6/23/2009 in Commentary : Editorial
The poor economy hasn't sapped the energy out of all employment opportunities.
A burgeoning wind industry has created a pressing demand for workers skilled in maintaining wind turbines. That has Kansas' lone wind energy program educating students as quickly as possible to help meet the need for turbine technicians.
The Wind Energy Technology program at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, one of just 30 wind energy programs in the nation, has seen many of its students with job offers before they complete the program. The school currently has a waiting list.
The thought of a guaranteed job understandably piques the interest of students facing one of the tougher job markets in history. And a number of wind energy operations are so eager to employ technicians that they're funding their education.
With more wind farms under construction or being planned across the nation, the demand for skilled technicians will continue outpacing the number of students receiving training. Schools currently can provide only a fraction of the new turbine technicians needed.
Kansas is just beginning to make strides in realizing its wind-energy potential. The deal that cleared the way for expansion of the Sunflower Electric Power Corp. coal-fired facility at Holcomb included a renewable energy standard requiring Kansas utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.
With wind energy gaining steam in Kansas, more schools should seize the opportunity to expand their offerings to include training in that field.
Count Garden City Community College as one school doing as much.
A new seminar designed to give already skilled wind turbine technicians more training is to be launched this summer at GCCC. It should mirror the college's ammonia refrigeration program in training workers from companies throughout the world, making it yet another way to draw people to the region. That's a nice bonus.
As for Kansans, no one should have to leave the state for a wind energy-related education. The faster more schools throughout the state position themselves to take advantage of the opportunity blowing their way, the better.
Credit GCCC for moving in that direction.
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