Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC), along with its many industry partners, has created the National Boiler Training and Renewable Fuels Institute to seek out and meet individual as well as industry training needs. One of the workforce challenges confronted by this industry has been the lack of short-term training programs that will produce more trained technicians in a shorter period of time.  The training programs offered through the program at WITCC are designed to meet the industry need as well as for the individual who want to take advantage of the career opportunities offered in the different occupational fields related to the renewable fuels industry.  According to a joint report released in October 2007 by the Sierra Club, World Watch, and the United States Steel Workers of America, the renewable fuels industry could lead to the creation of more than 9,500 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years.

All of this is spurred by this nation’s goal to produce over 35 billion gallons of ethanol annually by the year 2035.  The tri-state Siouxland region of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota contains one of the nation’s largest concentration of renewable fuels plants.  With the emergence of the renewable fuels industry a broad gap now exists between the number of multi-craft technicians needed with skills in these technical fields and the employment opportunities available in the renewable fuels and boiler related trades.

The curriculum at WITCC that is associated with this program is designed for the individual who wants to take advantage of those employment opportunities.    The curriculum concentrates on skills relating to steam generation as well as maintenance, troubleshooting and repair of boiler systems as well as skills associated with working in the bio-fuels and ethanol producing industries. 

Classes offered through this program are extremely flexible and can be accomplished through part time, evening, and online options.  Some of the courses include; electrical concepts, electrical motor control, building automation, water treatment, process and analysis chemistry, basic renewable fuels and plant safety to name  a few.  Much of this training can be accomplished at our state-of-the-art training facility or it can be transported to a company’s on-site location with the inherent benefit of eliminating employee travel time. 

So if you enjoy a challenge, like to work with your hands, want to be work in an ever-changing environment and want to be involved in the nation’s green industries - this program may be for you!