Wind Sector Job Boom Could Offer Shelter to Displaced Oil & Gas Employees

By Jane Smith

Apr 18, 2016 08:46 AM EDT

The wind power industry is involved in the designing, manufacturing, construction, and maintenance of wind turbines. It may not provide compensation as high when compared to those who worked in the oil industry; however, it is still enough to feed families and provide for their needs.

With the given situation of the oil industry and with thousands of workers losing their jobs, it is important to note that the wind industry might provide an answer: they are on a hiring binge of late.

According to the U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2015, the wind sector has opened at least 88,000 jobs at the beginning of 2016. The report comes from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) trade group.

Tom Kiernan, CEO of the AWEA, said he is expecting the wind workforce to grow up and offer 380,000 positions by 2030. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the wind has outpaced natural gas last year in terms of being the leading source of new generating capacity.

A press release from the AWEA also stated that the wind sector job growth in 2015 is caused by more wind project development and construction. "The industry also experienced a stabilization of its manufacturing sector, which supports more than 21,000 jobs in 43 states, up 10% over 2014. More than 8,800 jobs are held by wind turbine technicians."

Furthermore, according to Oil and Gas 360, "new wind electric generation capacity measured 8,598 megawatts (MW) across 20 states. An additional 9,400 MW of wind capacity was under construction as of the start of 2016, with another 4,900 MW in advanced stages of development."

With all these vacancies available for grabs, those who lost their source of income due to job cuts in the oil and gas industry are very much welcome to apply and try their luck in this sector. Of course, the job vacancies are open to all, for as long as they meet the requirements. To see the list of job openings, individuals are welcome to check out the AWEA jobs portal.