Nordex aims to empower women in Turkey’s wind energy

Nordex Enerji A.?., in partnership with the Turkish Women in Renewable and Energy Network, organized a three-day wind energy training for young women.

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex’s Turkey branch, Nordex Enerji A.?., in partnership with Turkish Women in Renewable and Energy Network (TWRE), aims to enhance Turkish young women’s participation in the wind energy sector through a new training program.

The training is a first for Turkey in empowering young women in this sector. The three-day training, which was held in Turkey’s Aegean city of ?zmir from Oct. 23-25, brought together young female Turkish professionals, engineering students and new graduates from various schools and cities.

The participants received first-hand information on Nordex’s history and turbine portfolio, wind development, turbine description and network. A wind park tour was also organized to Nordex’s Pitane Windpark in Alia?a on the third day.

Nordex Enerji A.?.’s Training Coordinator Oya Torum told Anadolu Agency (AA) as Nordex attaches great importance to female employment in their company, they want to increase women’s participation particularly in field operations and technical positions.

“My idea of the wind sector changed drastically the moment I came across a wind turbine. I am now well aware of the fact that the wind energy sector is a heavy and dangerous one. However, many women work in blue-collar jobs in Scandinavian countries. Why not in Turkey?” Torum said.

Torum recalled that the percentage of females employed in white-collar jobs in Nordex Enerji A.?. is around 27%, while blue-collar employment is almost zero.

“We receive almost no job applications for blue-collar jobs, and therefore we could not avail of the opportunity to have women employees in these fields. However, we definitely want to increase this number and that is why we have organized this training,” she explained.

With a market share of 26.7% and an installed wind capacity of 2,038 megawatts (MW), the Nordex Group is the market leader in Turkey. Along with 110 MW capacity at the Söke Wind Farm in Ayd?n near the Aegean coast, the Nordex Group plans to further install turbines with a total capacity of 266 MW up to the end of 2020.

Nordex Enerji A.?. started its operations in Turkey in April 2009. Along with its headquarters in Istanbul, the company has a services office and a technical training center in ?zmir. The company currently has 249 Turkish employees.

Torum further detailed female employment statistics in the company. In the Human Resources and Culture and Administration Department, 67% are female. The Finance Department has 60% representation, the Sales Department has 25%, the Services Department has 22%, Sales Support and Project Engineering contains 20%, and 17% are in the Project Management Department.