Photo Caption: Instructors Tom Sutton, left, and Lief Doezema, far right, of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Wind Turbine Academy, trained Huynh Bao (third from right) and his Vietnamese colleagues.

Growing up in Vietnam, Huynh Bao never imagined that his first trip to the United States would have him scaling a 300-foot wind turbine in Kalamazoo, Michigan. But for the 44-year-old and three other Vietnamese colleagues, that’s exactly what their first trip across the pond entailed.

The group, employees at the Ho Chi Minh City-based EVNGENCO 3, traveled more than 24 hours by plane to Kalamazoo in late 2022 to train with instructors in Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Wind Turbine Technician Academy (WTTA). EVNGENCO 3 specializes in electricity production and electric power engineering. The company aims to become one of the leading units in the energy sector, in both investment and development of wind power, in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia.

Kalamazoo Valley’s Director of Wind Energy and Technical Services Tom Sutton hopes to help get the company there.

With the assistance of an interpreter and Google translate, Sutton provided Bao and his co-workers with 32 days of instruction, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., including one-week training in the field at Stoney Corners Wind Farm in northern Michigan.

“Fundamentally, the electrical skills the group already had were transferable to wind power but the skills they learned were new,” Sutton explained. “The training went really well and was a very positive experience for everyone.”

Bao, speaking through an interpreter, agreed.

“The class is very practical. I’m learning new and interesting things. I’m very happy about it,” he said. Bao and his colleagues were required to submit a daily report to their company detailing what they learned in class.

“Wind power is a new industry in our country,” he said. “We have experience with gas, solar and hydro power but wind power is new in Vietnam. We want to be able to provide maintenance and service to wind farms in Vietnam.”

According to Bao, the country hopes to put 10 gigawatts of wind power, or approximately 3,000 wind turbines, into operation by 2025.

“The United States is the leader in wind power,” he said. “Vietnam wants to follow the U.S. standards.”

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Topics covered during the training included SCADA operations, automation controls, power conversion and grid integration. Upon completion, Bao and his colleagues received certification in GWO Basic Safety Training, GWO Basic Technician Training, NFPA -70E ArcFlash, Certificate of Participation, and Advanced First Aid.

According to Sutton, there is potential for another group of EVNGENCO 3 employees to travel to Kalamazoo and the school is in discussions to expand its training to other international energy companies.

“We’re in very early talks with companies in Thailand, Brazil and Japan through our affiliation with the BZEE in Germany,” he said. “We will welcome at least one instructor from Australia to the campus in February for eight weeks of hands-on BZEE Instructor Certification training.”

Kalamazoo Valley’s competency-based WTTA provides a fast track to jobs that are in demand and pay high wages. Kalamazoo Valley offers the course as a non-credit, full-time program allowing students the chance to be job-ready in less than six months. Focused on specific, hands-on competencies, the unique training model moves students from the classroom to the learning labs and into the field quickly.

The program requires graduates to achieve 100 percent success in meeting industry standards in core areas of qualification. The graduates must successfully complete written assessments, practical examinations in the lab, and demonstrate their capabilities in the field.

More than 96 percent of WTTA alumni work in the wind industry, with the majority accepting offers for employment prior to graduation. The Academy is offered twice a year, in January and July. For more information, call (269) 353-1560, email careeracademies@kvcc.edu or visit www.kvcc.edu/wind.

ABOUT KALAMAZOO VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Established in 1966, Kalamazoo Valley Community College offers certificate programs in more than 50 areas of study and associate degrees in 60 others. These include business, healthcare, human and public service, and technical occupations, culinary arts, and brewing training. The college has four Kalamazoo, Michigan locations, including the Texas Township Campus, the Groves Campus, the Arcadia Commons Campus, and the Bronson Healthy Living Campus. Classes are available during the day, evening, online, and weekends.