Two years after its inaugural launch, Nordex Energy South Africa’s internship programme continues to build a pipeline of skilled technicians to service and manage wind farms.

To date, 14 young engineers, with a minimum N4 qualification in electrical, mechanical or mechatronics disciplines, have been provided practical training opportunities aligned with the increasing demand for specialised skills within the wind industry.

The initiative, which was launched in November 2023, places interns, on a rotational basis, across the company’s wind farms in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.

They are paired with experienced service technician mentors to gain hands-on experience in turbine maintenance, troubleshooting and site operations, explained Nordex Energy South Africa head of people and culture Zelrese Brair.

This aims to grow skills and create a talent pool to mitigate skills shortages amid a growing demand within the industry for skilled service technicians.

Following a two-week induction, including technical, health, safety and working-at-heights training, besides others, at the company’s Gqeberha offices, the interns are placed on a site to engage in activities such as technical work, administrative tasks, warehouse management and technical presentations covering topics like turbine systems, generator operations and energy conversion processes.

Over the 18-month period, the interns spend a few months at a time at the various wind turbine farm sites to learn about the different technologies installed across the portfolio.

The programme is monitored through regular, monthly feedback sessions between mentors and interns to assess performance, address challenges and guide professional growth.

Based on strong performance and positive feedback, several wind farms have expressed interest in offering full-time employment to interns after completion of the programme.

Nordex has already absorbed five of the inaugural cohort of seven interns following their successful completion of the wind power internship programme.

In June, Nordex Energy South Africa inducted a new group of seven interns, bringing the total to 14 to date, into the programme, with plans to increase the intake to 10 interns next year, as Nordex increases the number of its wind farms. The company is currently in the final construction phases of two additional wind farms, adding to its current portfolio of nine.

To source candidates for the second intake, Nordex adopted a new peer-referral model, calling on experienced technicians to nominate candidates from within their professional networks.

This approach helps identify individuals with a strong fit for the sector’s demanding fieldwork and team dynamics.