Building a bright future for wind.
Most companies know STL USA as a provider of scheduled training courses for wind technicians, primarily GWO courses. We do a lot, and we are by no means stopping!
However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg and we thought we’d take some time in our latest blog to look at all the services and solutions STL USA provides.
STL USA is a full-service training provider for wind technicians with a broad range of services and solutions for companies in wind looking to upskill their workforce. In practice, this means we train people from their first day in wind to intermediate/advanced technicians with years of service under their belts. We like to think of STL USA as a resource that wind companies can use to improve themselves. Working with STL USA is about focusing on outcomes, and improving operational effectiveness and capabilities, which leads directly to better uptime, more jobs won, and more jobs retained.
In a competitive market, a highly competent workforce wins.
Training, wind tech education, in fact, everything at STL USA is focused on the technician. we exist to help them be better through skills, knowledge and practice. Whether that’s equipping them with vital safety skills and knowledge or developing their competencies because we know safer, more competent technicians are good for everyone.
Overview of services and solutions
Scheduled Courses
Usually, at least one course runs every week of the year. These are the most in-demand wind technician courses, primarily the certification that all field techs need to be allowed to do their job. Every week, we have a GWO Basic Safety, Basic Technical, Advanced Rescue, Slinger Signaller and a Qualified Electrical Worker to NFPA 70E Low and High Voltage course with the option to double and sometimes triple the available seats. We think it’s important to have this availability, particularly for certification that can stop a tech from working. We also never, and we mean never, cancel a course due to low numbers.
On-Demand Courses
With nearly 80 course options to choose from, ranging through certification, electrical safety, skills, and competency, we have virtually everything a wind tech and their employer would ever need. We run our on-demand courses based on a minimum of 4 attendees. Examples would be courses like GWO Crane & Hoist, CoHE, Confined Space Awareness and Competent Person Courses. It’s a simple process to organise one of these as we have over 20,000 square feet of training facilities, six classrooms, a dedicated technical workshop and three turbine mock-ups alongside one of the most experienced teams of instructors in the industry with a combined 60+ years of hands-on field experience.
Onsite Training
Onsite training is incredibly important to STL USA. we recognise how important convenience and cost savings are for our customers. Onsite training focusses on safety and rescue. The core courses we offer onsite are GWO Basic Safety and Refreshers, Advanced rescue and Refreshers, Qualified Electrical Worker to NFPA 70E Low and High Voltage and our new BOP Substation and PMT Switching courses. We also offer rescue plan development and EAP action plan evaluation and reporting.
Consistent with the theme of convenience and cost-saving the way we deliver and blend courses onsite results in fewer training days and reduced overheads. More info here.
Online Blended GWO Courses
If cost saving is your number one priority blended courses are the format for you. Available across the whole GWO course portfolio, blended courses give you the option to take the theory parts of a GWO course online, simply visiting the training centre (or onsite) for your practical sessions.
In virtually all courses, that means cutting down the face-to-face time by roughly one-half. That’s a huge reduction in overheads.
Consulting and tailored solutions (Course and Program creation)
Many of STL USA’s customers are looking for something more when it comes to training and educating their technicians. They recognise that putting their people on the pathway to operational excellence is a smart investment in their organisations. We work extensively with these companies who have a clear idea of outcomes and need our support and expertise to help them get there. Solutions fall into two areas:
- Course creation and delivery. Bespoke course development based on customer requirements incorporating applicable standards, internal processes and systems with a clear understanding of learning objectives and technician skill profiles.
- Program development. Development of learning pathways for individuals and groups of technicians. These services include workforce assessments, skills gap analysis, learning pathway development and training delivery.
Training set-up consultancy
We help in-house teams and education establishments implement training programs, develop facilities and train their instructors. This is something we have done since day one through our partnership with Texas State Technical College, larger wind companies, ISP’s and more. Our team were the first to offer the train the trainer GWO IQT program in the USA, our people have delivered thousands of training courses and we have a simple implementation process that we follow.
These services break down into two key areas:
- Licensing of course content and train the trainer
- Consulting services around facilities and back office set-up
Hiring/Training – WindStart (New for 2024)
The biggest challenge we have in wind is attracting talented people who will fuel the growth potential over the next 10 years. With this in mind, STL USA has taken the bull by the horns and created a program that is designed to be a simple, easy entry point to the industry for new hires whilst offering employers the chance to recruit trained and vetted people looking to make wind their career. Learn more about WindStart here.
Long-term training and Apprenticeships (New for 2024)
Long-term training and apprenticeships are increasingly in demand from employers looking to secure funding or meet project requirements. The STL USA solution includes all external training requirements of the apprenticeship program plus certification in GWO and electrical safety. The apprentice module allows employers to simply bolt this onto a training program without the need for long-winded applications and expense. Resulting in a fully compliant Department of Labor program.
Talk to us about apprenticeships here.
Interested in our combined training provisions?
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