The Department of Education of the Basque Government and Siemens Gamesa have signed a cooperation agreement to encourage the teaching of renewable energy in Vocational Education schools in the Basque Country. On the part of the Department of Education, the agreement was signed by Jorge Arévalo, the Deputy Minister of Vocational Education, and on the part of the multinational company Siemens Gamesa, Jon Lezamiz Cortazar, the General Director of Inter-Institutional Relations, was the signatory. The event was held at Tknika, at the headquarters of the Center for Applied Research in Vocational Education in the Basque Country.

The signed agreement covers all public and chartered Vocational Education schools in the Basque Country, although it is mainly aimed at those offering renewable energy, industrial maintenance (intermediate and advanced level) and electricity (advanced level) educational cycles. In this way, about 800 students from the 40 Vocational Education schools that offer at least one of the aforementioned training cycles will be able to receive the training that will be given in renewable energy.

One of the goals of the agreement is for Siemens Gamesa to be able to receive talent from Vocational Education, by including students from these schools in its workforce, when the activity requires it. Likewise, according to this agreement, Siemens Gamesa undertakes to train Basque Vocational Education teachers in the installation and maintenance of wind farms, through the training catalog of the Navarre training school, both face-to-face and online. On the other hand, the Vocational Education of the Basque Country undertakes to include the didactic content proposed by Siemens Gamesa in the training it offers related to energy in general and wind energy in particular. Basque Vocational Education will help Siemens Games to design, manage and deliver these specialization programs.

Siemens Gamesa, on the other hand, will offer material related to wind farms to the network of vocational schools in the Basque Country, both physical and virtual, and could be virtual reality applications, wind turbine components or nacelles or machinery boxes (the element located at the top of the tower, on which the blades rotate.These boxes, made up of a metal structure, are the support for the other elements that are placed inside).

On the other hand, after the signing of the agreement, visits will be organized for students and teachers to see the wind farms, and explanatory sessions will be offered for students of Vocational Education schools.
Thanks to the agreement, it will be possible to increase the specialized workforce needed in this growing sector, which is essential for the fight against climate change and energy security.