Climb tall towers to service wind turbines. One or two years of college, then a lot of ladders.
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Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.
The median pay is about $77,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $50,000 at the lower end to about $108,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
1 to 2 years after high school, on the usual route.
$9,000 to $13,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
No. There is no licence to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$77,000
Lower end
$50,000
Upper end
$108,000
Job Bank's national median is $37 an hour, about $77,000 a year at 40 hours a week. The low is $24 and the high is $52 an hour. Job Bank counts wind turbine technicians in one group with construction millwrights and industrial mechanics, so these figures cover that whole group.
$46.48 an hour
The median in the Northwest Territories, the highest in Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador is next at $42.35, then Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan at $42.00. Ontario's median is $35.59, Quebec's $33.33, and New Brunswick's is lowest at $30.00. These cover the whole millwright and industrial mechanic group.
85%
Of Lethbridge Polytechnic's wind graduates had a related job within a year
That is the college's own figure for its program. For the wider millwright and industrial mechanic group, Job Bank rates the next 3 years as good in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, and moderate in most other provinces.
Roughly, all in
$9,000 to $13,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
One or two years of school is the whole bill. The low end is the two year Wind Turbine Technician diploma at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario: tuition and fees of about 4,430 dollars a year, plus boots and work clothes. The high end is the one year certificate at Lethbridge Polytechnic in Alberta: 7,770 dollars tuition, 3,253 in fees and 1,350 for books and supplies, plus boots and work clothes. GWO (Global Wind Organisation) safety courses bought outside a program would add to either. A driver's licence is strongly recommended, and the work means moving to where the turbines are.
Roughly $9,000 to $12,500 in tuition, fees and books, before living costs. One or two years of school is the whole bill.
Overtime and per diems
Repair campaigns and travel work pay daily allowances on top of wages.
Company truck
Sites are big and remote. Service technicians drive between turbines all day.
Health, dental and pension
Standard at utilities and turbine manufacturers.
Paid safety recertification
Employers cover the safety refreshers you need to keep climbing.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
One or two years of college, safety certificates, then a wind farm hires you.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Math, physics and a shop class. You must also be fit enough to climb, comfortable with heights and not prone to motion sickness.
Wind turbine technician program
1 to 2 years
Lethbridge Polytechnic in Alberta runs a one year certificate with a campus training tower and a real nacelle (the housing at the top of a turbine). St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario, runs a two year diploma.
Safety certificates
During or after the program
GWO (Global Wind Organisation) Basic Safety Training: first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, working at height, and sea survival for offshore work. It is the industry's standard safety training.
Get hired
Weeks to months
Wind farm owners, turbine manufacturers and service contractors hire graduates directly. The jobs are where the wind farms are, usually in rural areas.
Manufacturer training
On the job
Each turbine brand has its own machines, so employers train you on the models they run.
Physics
Electricity, hydraulics and how a spinning blade becomes power.
Math
Reading meters, torque values and electrical calculations.
Shop or technological design
Mechanical skill runs through every part of the job.
Physical education
You will climb a lot of ladders.
No province licenses wind turbine technicians. What matters instead is the safety paperwork. The GWO (Global Wind Organisation) standard is the industry's own passport: its Basic Safety Training is recognized by wind companies worldwide, and each module has a shorter refresher course you retake to keep it current. High-voltage work inside the turbine is done by technicians with extra electrical training or by licensed electricians, depending on the province and the employer.
In Quebec the main route is a college attestation taught in French in Gaspé, with the GWO (Global Wind Organisation) safety certificates built in.
Secondary IV math and science
Before applying
The AEC (Attestation of College Studies) in Wind Turbine Maintenance asks for Secondary IV math and science and technology, good health, and no fear of heights or tight spaces. There is a selection interview.
AEC in Wind Turbine Maintenance (ELJ.42)
About 9 months
960 hours at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles: about 3 months online, about 4 months in person in Gaspé, then a 6 week work placement. Full time, daytime.
Safety and technical certificates
During the program
The program includes GWO basic safety training (work at heights, fire awareness, first aid) and GWO technical modules in electrical, hydraulic and mechanical work, bolting and installation.
Technical English
During the program
Classes are in French. A 45 hour course in technical English is included, since turbine manuals are often in English.
On top of registration, the college lists about $750 for protective equipment and materials, about $300 in other costs, and GWO (Global Wind Organisation) certificate fees that vary. Already working on turbines? The same AEC (Attestation of College Studies) can be earned through recognition of prior learning, from home, part time and at your own pace.
Things you don't need, but that help.
GWO (Global Wind Organisation) Advanced Rescue and Basic Technical Training
The next two GWO courses after basic safety, both offered in the Lethbridge program and useful for lead and travelling roles.
Electrical or millwright apprenticeship
A Red Seal ticket on top of wind experience makes you very hard to replace.
Blade repair
Rope-access work fixing fibreglass blades. Specialised and seasonal.
High-voltage switching
Lets you isolate and work on the turbine's electrical system.
Fitness
Lethbridge asks that you can lift up to 22.5 kg (50 pounds) and work in confined spaces.
Driver's licence
Strongly recommended, because you travel to sites and training.
Willingness to travel
Much of the repair work is away from your home town.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Safety meeting at 7am, then drive out to the day's turbines. Clip in, climb the tower (some have a lift, many do not), and spend the day in the nacelle, the box at the top, doing scheduled maintenance: changing oil and filters, torquing bolts, testing sensors, checking the brakes and the gearbox. If a turbine has faulted, you troubleshoot the electrical and hydraulic systems until it spins again. Weather can stop work: no climbing in high wind or lightning.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Lethbridge Polytechnic tells applicants they must be able to climb ladders of 60 to 125 metres and to work at heights and in tight spaces.
The GWO (Global Wind Organisation) says more than 190,000 people have trained to its standard, at over 600 centres in 55 countries. A Canadian technician's safety training is recognized by wind companies almost anywhere.
Canada had nearly 19 GW (gigawatts) of wind power at the end of 2025. CanREA (Canadian Renewable Energy Association) says recent and planned contracts will take Quebec's wind and solar from about 4.5 GW (gigawatts) to over 14 GW, and British Columbia's from about 0.9 to 4 GW.
Lethbridge Polytechnic students practise on a real nacelle, the housing at the top of a turbine, that weighs 309,000 pounds, and on a campus training tower.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Electrical and energy first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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