When working hundreds of feet in the air, there is no room for error. A new partnership with TEAM-1 Academy Inc., one of the world’s leading safety and rescue training companies, will ensure students in Lethbridge College’s Wind Turbine Technician program are trained to handle that challenge as they enter their careers.
TEAM-1 Academy will provide world-class training and equipment to the college’s students and faculty over the next three years.
“This is a mutually-beneficial partnership that will greatly assist our students,” says Dr. Paula Burns, Lethbridge College President and CEO. “Having TEAM-1 involved with our Wind Turbine Technician program will better prepare our students to enter the industry and will help raise the profile of our program. We are appreciative that TEAM-1 shares our vision, and we look forward to the opportunities this partnership will present.”
TEAM-1 Academy has worked with renewable energy companies for more than 20 years, providing safety and rescue training and equipment. As part of the partnership agreement, TEAM-1 Academy trainers will visit the Lethbridge College campus multiple times each year to train students and faculty, and they will also use the college’s training space to train workers from other wind power generation companies. Participants will earn a globally recognized certification from the Global Wind Organization (GWO), as TEAM-1 is one of only two companies in Canada certified to provide GWO training.
“This is our most recent college partnership, and we are looking forward a long relationship,” says Scott Connor, TEAM-1 President and Chief of Training. “Lethbridge College has a modern, state-of-the-art facility and has the staff to back it up.”
The three-year agreement is valued at well over $100,000. In recognition of this gift, the training platform in the college’s Wind Turbine Technician shop will be renamed in honour of TEAM-1 Academy Inc.
Students will graduate from the Wind Turbine Technician program with a double certification as the college already offers BZEE certification. The dual accreditation will help to make Lethbridge College graduates even more attractive to employers as they enter the industry.
“This partnership will help ensure our students graduate climb ready,” says Chris DeLisle, chair of the Wind Turbine Technician program. “While our students have always found success entering the industry, the dual certification means they will have even more options all around the world. The annual refresher training will also help our faculty stay as current as possible with industry trends, and connect them with more industry contacts, which will benefit our students.”
TEAM-1 Academy Inc. has provided industry-leading safety and rescue training for 20 years, providing services to renewable energy, Fortune 500 companies, construction, health care, utilities, fire services, police, EMS, military, government and many other agencies.
Lethbridge College’s Wind Turbine Technician one-year certificate program helps meet the personnel needs of one of the world’s fastest growing technologies. The nationally-recognized program is designed to meet the international certification standard, preparing students to write the BZEE certificate of competency exams as well as the first period electrician apprenticeship provincial exam.