College's Wind Turbine Apprentices Awarded After Completing First Stage of Apprenticeship
One of Wales’s most recent intake of apprentice wind turbine technicians were presented with their certificates recently, after successfully completing the first year of their college-based training at Wales' only Wind Turbine Training Centre, situated at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus.
The Grŵp Llandrillo Menai students completed the academic part of their three-year Wind Turbine Apprenticeship Programme (Level 2 framework) before cutting their teeth on offshore wind turbines - Wales’ biggest renewable energy source – last summer, working with their prospective employers at two different locations. The awards ceremony had to be delayed by six months due to Covid-19.
During 2020/2021, the training centre hosted eight RWE Renewables’ apprentices: four based at Triton Knoll in Lincolnshire and four from Liverpool Bay. After only one year, they attained a BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Engineering and a C&G NVQ Level 2 in Performing Engineering Operations.
Midway through their second year, they are now undertaking a C&G Diploma in Wind Turbine Maintenance (Technical Knowledge) and additional units to the NVQ Level 2.
Due to the success of the college’s award-winning apprenticeship programme, last summer RWE Renewables announced that 12 more of its apprentices from across the UK would be starting their training at the college.
Speaking at last week’s presentation ceremony, RWE’s UK apprenticeship manager Craig O’Malley, said: “The completion of the Level 2 framework marks a key milestone in the development of the apprentices. It’s great to see them progressing well at Coleg Llandrillo, and I’m glad that we get a chance to recognise their achievements with the presentation today.
“I’m looking forward to following their careers over the next few years as they establish themselves as highly-skilled, wind turbine technicians, working on RWE’s existing wind farms, as well as those currently in development.”
Coleg Llandrillo’s Wind Turbine trainer & assessor Mark McDonough said: “We are very pleased to continue working in partnership with RWE Renewables to train young persons for the ever-growing renewable power industry. We have a proven successful apprenticeship programme for hydro, offshore, and onshore wind power and look forward to many more years working with RWE Renewables.”
The first ever cohort of trainee wind turbine technicians - who were selected out of over 660 applicants after a rigorous selection process taking many months - started their training at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus in September 2012.
For more information on Wind Turbine apprenticeships at Coleg Llandrillo, please contact the college’s Learner Services team on 01492 542 338.
Web: www.gllm.ac.uk
