On April 1st, Kuressaare Vocational School opened new training facilities in the Technology Lighthouse building, where future wind turbine blade maintenance technicians and wind turbine technicians will be trained.

“With funding from the European Union and support from our partners, we have established training workshops for wind turbine blade maintenance and wind turbine technicians. These facilities will provide training in accordance with international safety standards set by GWO and IRATA,” said Mairold Vaik, the project manager for the development of wind turbine technician training at the school. “In these new facilities, we will also introduce wind energy specializations to prospective students and other interested parties.”

The training rooms were built in the Technology Lighthouse educational building located in Upa village. The reconstruction project for the building section was designed and executed by INV Konsult OÜ, with the total contract price amounting to €430,380, including VAT.

The training facility also features a wind turbine generator supplied to the school by Meritreid OÜ. Enefit Green AS donated two used wind turbine blades to the school, which will be used for blade maintenance and material processing training.

The first wind turbine blade maintenance training program is scheduled to start in September 2025, with the first group of graduates expected to enter the job market in the summer of 2026.

The wind turbine blade maintenance curriculum was developed in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Research as well as industry representatives. View the curriculum.

In January 2024, the vocational school received a positive funding decision from the PEEK program, amounting to €1.98 million, to create the necessary conditions for wind energy technician training, in line with the regional development strategy. Read the news.

The European Social Fund+ is providing €1.5 million for the project, while the Ministry of Education and Research is contributing €400,000 as co-funding. Major procurements are managed by the State Shared Service Center. The project will run until August 2026.

The project partner, the Estonian Wind Power Association (ETEA), a professional association representing wind energy companies, is contributing an additional €21,000 to project activities.

Together with ETEA, the vocational school will promote wind energy studies and the broader industry to the public and prospective students. Other companies supporting the project include Saare Wind Energy, Meritreid, and 3D Wind Service. The Tallinn University of Technology’s Kuressaare College is also a cooperation partner.