Offshore Wind Training Investments and Opportunities
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Learn about career pathways and job opportunities in offshore wind.
New York is working diligently to develop the critical offshore wind training infrastructure to support a growing U.S. offshore wind industry. This includes providing funding for education, training, and apprenticeship programs to prepare New Yorkers for careers in the offshore wind industry, from manufacturing to construction and installation to operations and maintenance.
The Jobs and Supply Chain Technical Working Group (JSC-TWG) helped scope job and industry needs, develop the research and training framework for job training, and begins identifying new credentials and academic degree programs that will prepare New Yorkers, including low-income and those from disadvantaged communities or priority populations, for these emerging high-paying jobs.
These ongoing efforts will encourage collaboration on key research initiatives and will be informed by industry experts to ensure all New Yorkers can benefit from public training programs and educational campaigns that increase awareness about the benefits of offshore wind and where and when they can best participate in this exciting new industry.
Here’s an overview of New York State’s investment and efforts to advance offshore wind training and workforce development.
New York Offshore Wind Academic Symposiums
NYSERDA began convening universities, colleges, and community colleges in 2024 to discuss new offshore wind courses, credentials, and programs. The goal of these Academic Symposiums is to help promote information sharing, collaborations, and transparency among groups working to educate the offshore wind workforce. Information about the latest courses and programs is available below:
New York Offshore Wind Training Institute (OWTI)
In 2020, NYSERDA launched the OWTI with $20 million in funding in collaboration with SUNY’s Farmingdale State College and Stony Brook University, representing the largest public investment in offshore wind workforce development by any state in the U.S. The OWTI aims to advance offshore wind training programs, and the educational infrastructure needed to establish a skilled workforce that can support the emerging national offshore wind industry. In cultivating a statewide umbrella of industry, academic, trade and community partnerships, the OWTI will certify and train 2,500 New York workers to support both offshore and onshore wind energy projects.
NYSERDA OWTI Award Recipients:
NYSERDA issued its first round of competitive awards under the State’s $20 million OWTI investment funds in 2021. The first two winning proposals received a combined $569,618 to support early training and skills development for disadvantaged communities and priority populations – including veterans, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, homeless individuals, and single parents – in both the Capital Region and New York City.
In late 2023, Governor Hochul announced that $2.3 million in funding through the OWTI was awarded to two recipients: the New York City Union Iron Workers and the Albany-Schoharie-Schenectady-Saratoga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (Capital Region BOCES). These awards leverage both recipients’ established workforce development expertise, supporting new skills training programs needed to prepare hundreds of workers for skilled jobs in the offshore wind industry.
In September 2024, Governor Hochul announced a $2.3 million OWTI award to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 3 to develop and deliver training for offshore wind-related skills to 100 pre-apprentices and 430 journeypersons in New York City.
Learn more about NYSERDA-awarded OWTI funding recipients.
SUNY OWTI Award Recipients:
A total of 28 OWTI grants have been awarded to SUNY campuses (opens in new window), totaling $8 million over two funding rounds. In 2023, $4 million was awarded in first-round funding (opens in new window) to eight SUNY campuses to develop programs preparing students for careers in offshore wind. Second-round funding (opens in new window), totaling $4 million, was awarded in 2024 to SUNY campuses to further expand workforce development and training initiatives for offshore wind careers.
National Offshore Wind Training Center (NOWTC)
The developers of New York’s Sunrise Wind project have invested $10 million in a National Offshore Wind Training Center in Brentwood on Long Island. The NOWTC will be housed within a community-centered space that expands access to family-sustaining job opportunities and educational advancement, particularly for high school and college-age New Yorkers entering the workforce. The NOWTC is expected to train and certify hundreds, if not thousands, of workers under Global Wind Organization (GWO) training standards for offshore wind.
Center of Excellence for Offshore Energy at SUNY Maritime College
Launched with a grant from New York State, the Center of Excellence for Offshore Energy (opens in new window) at SUNY Maritime College is working to develop classroom and online training programs for wind operations, dynamic positioning, and offshore vessel operations. The Center hosted its first Offshore Wind Power Conference (opens in new window) in September 2019, which provided an overview of ocean wind power generation technology while focusing on the development of support infrastructure needed to install and sustain wind power generation projects in our region.