The wind farms sprouting across Washington and Oregon need technicians who can climb 200 feet in the air to work on turbines.
Over the next five to 10 years more than 700 jobs will be available, paying an average starting wage of $20 an hour. That's according to a December report published by Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles and the Yakima-based South Central Washington Workforce Council.
More: Going Green
Columbia Gorge Community College accepted its first students in 2007 in the renewable energy technology program, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Other Washington colleges are breezing into wind education, too. Walla Walla Community College has started a wind turbine technician technology program, with distance learning partner programs at Yakima Valley Community College, Wenatchee Valley Community College and Columbia Basin College in Pasco.
