A new partnership between a French energy company and the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) could bring new trades jobs to the Maritimes.
Q Energy France signed a deal with NSCC in Halifax on January 22 to collaborate on training new skilled workers. They say they’re looking for people who want to enter the trade industry to build and maintain offshore wind turbines around the eastern parts of Nova Scotia.
The company, along with its South Korean partner Hanwha Ocean, have applied for pre-qualification, but the province still needs to approve it.
If their request isn’t approved, CEO of Q Energy Junu Lee says the agreement with NSCC could fall through.
Junu Lee, CEO of Q Energy, talking to reporters. Photo: Natalie Chiasson/Acadia Broadcasting
“Frankly speaking, if we are not qualified, then it’s a little bit difficult to continue because we don’t have business here,” Lee explains, but he remains optimistic that the company will be approved.
The President of NSCC, Don Bureaux, believes the partnership is very important for providing the specialized training needed to operate in the wind energy business.
“We’ll partner on training materials and training technologies to make sure that our students are learning on the exact equipment that they’re going to need in their workforce,” he says.
NSCC President, Don Bureaux. Photo: Natalie Chiasson/Acadia Broadcasting
Bureaux shares that if all goes well, several new programs will be offered through the college over the next few years, and any skills learned will be transferable to other forms of energy.
Q Energy says that power generated from the potential turbines would be used here, as well as other regions, but even if their application is approved there’s still more major hurdles.
The province needs to finish upgrading the transmission lines so that the offshore wind turbines can send power to other parts of the country, and environmental studies will need to be conducted in the proposed areas before development can begin.
