Workforce Assessment

The Wind Alliance (“TWA”), along with a member University will accomplish a comprehensive Wind Technology Scan (the “Scan”) of wind industry research and development needs based upon technology barriers and identify areas of expertise and current R&D. 

Together, we will accomplish a Texas Workforce Assessment (the “Assessment”) that will use raw data from the proposed scan along with other data to identify Texas wind energy industry workforce needs in manufacturing, production, technology development, and education.
Together, the Scan and Assessment will facilitate identification of gaps in Texas technology development that represent opportunities for workforce development and education, investments in R&D, and prospects for project and educational funding.  In short, Texas must understand the gaps within technology in order to steer workforce development and education.  Simultaneously, Texas must close the workforce gaps in order to fill industry needs.  The Scan and Assessment, as linked projects, address these issues.

The assessment project will create a planning document that will help industry and two- and four-year institutions in Texas meet the needs of the current and future wind energy industry workforce in areas such as manufacturing, production, technology development, and education.  We will collaborate to forecast workforce needs by geographic region and industry segments in Texas; b) identify new and emerging occupations and needed skill sets for current and future jobs in the wind energy industry; c) scan value chain and related industries for job requirements; and d) provide an inventory of currently available wind industry-based curricula as well as identify gaps in available program offerings.

From this project completion, we will be able to develop a wind template to help other states forecast workforce and ciriculum demands so they can take full advantage of wind opportunities in their state.