CWind Training sails into Grimsby
OFFSHORE WIND OPERATOR TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR 3,000 DELEGATES A YEAR IN BURGEONING SECTOR
GRIMSBY’S world-leading role in offshore wind operations and maintenance has been further enhanced with the decision of a major player to bring training to the town. Essex-based CWind already has its operational headquarters in the port, and now CWind Training will also head up the East Coast.
It is described as a leading provider of health and safety, offshore skills and GWO-accredited training courses, and will see an 18m training tower brought north and further supporting facilities developed. Tom O’Shea, head of training at CWind, said: “Moving near to the operational hub enables us to benefit from insight directly from live projects, working more closely with our colleagues who are dealing with the daily realities of technical work at an offshore wind farm, giving our students the most realistic training experience possible.
“On the East Coast, Grimsby is at the heart of the UK’s offshore wind industry, making it a more convenient location for our customers. With more impressive facilities, experienced instructors, courses that always reflect the latest industry requirements, modern equipment and an 18m realistic training tower, we are able to ensure high-quality training opportunities for all students.”
The relocation will also bring CWind Training closer to many of its customers in Grimsby, with seven wind farms currently served and more in the pipeline. It comes as targets for installation have been ramped up, with job numbers set to rocket.
The new location offers a suite of classrooms and training areas that will increase CWind Training’s current capacity to allow more than 3,000 course spaces per year for the essential training required to work in the growing offshore wind industry. Martyn Boyers, chief executive at Grimsby Fish Dock Enterprises Ltd, operator of the Humber’s first port - where the region’s burgeoning offshore wind story began, said: “CWind are an important existing customer at the ‘GRO Centre’ in the Port of Grimsby East, and we are delighted that they have chosen to relocate their CWind Training base with us. Not only is this good news for us, as the port operator, but also for North East Lincolnshire Council, the wider community and for local job seekers.
“CWind Training’s decision to relocate to the area underpins the significance of Grimsby as a strategic base for offshore renewables and is great news for renewables in the Humber Hub and the wider region as more offshore activities develop. “This move is an exciting opportunity and establishes a place of excellence within the offshore renewables industry, with Grimsby at the heart of it. We look forward to working with CWind Training and developing our facilities for some time to come.”
Established in 2010 as National Wind Farm Training Centres before being rebranded as CWind Training in 2017, the provider has been based in Lowestoft since 2011.
In 2012, CWind Training was the first UK-owned and based training provider to achieve a Global Wind Organisation accreditation.