The Vestas wind turbine plant in Windsor was packed all day Wednesday as the company seek to hire 400 new employees.
The company has orders for 700 of their wind turbines next year. To fill the demand, Vestas needs more than 1,000 employees and in the past year, they on-boarded more than 700. Wednesday’s job fair ended in 45 immediate offers of employment.
“We have firm orders for the foreseeable future,” said factory manager Jacqueline Highsmith. “This is a really exciting time to be in wind energy.”
Vestas is looking for more than short-term employees, they plan on training and retaining the new workers. The company is not requiring prior experience from applicants, instead they will educate them on the job.
“If they’re a good fit for us and we’re a good fit for them, we’ll be placing offers,” said Highsmith.
As renewable energy grows, the need for employees rises along with it. A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report , found that by 2030, the demand for wind energy workers could reach 258,000, but projections are currently at 134,000.