Top 5 Wind Industry Certificates To Get In Taiwan To Fast Track Your Career
General Certificates
Global Wind Organisation Basic Safety Training (GWO)
Useful Rating: 👽👽👽👽👽
Value for Money Rating: 👽👽👽
Course Intensity: 💦💦
Initial Cost: NTD 59,000 (USD 1434.63)
Renewal Cost: NTD 45,000 (USD 1880.96)
Course Duration: 5 Days for first-timers / 3 days for a refresher course
Valid Period: 2 years
Reasoning: Most recruiters will ask candidates whether they possess the complete set of certificates. Permanent positions may provide training and pay for your certificates, but as a contractor, you are ideally required to have all 4-5 components (WAH, FAW, MH, SS & FA) at the time of the interview. You don’t have to acquire all 5 components at once, as they have an expiry date. You can opt to go for only one or two courses depending on your work conditions. SS is usually needed when your work is on a vessel or at the port.
If you move between the oil and wind industries, I will suggest BOSEIT instead of GWO BST.
What’s Included:
Working at Height (WAH) / 2 days [*0.5 days]
Fire Awareness (FAW) / 0.5 days
Manual Handling (MH) / 0.5 days
Sea Survival (SS) / 1 day
First Aid (FA) / 1 day [*0.5 days]
quality Certificates
Public Construction Committee Certificate (PCC)
Useful Rating: 👽👽👽👽👽
Value for Money Rating: 👽👽👽👽👽
Course Intensity: 💦💦💦💦
Initial Cost: NTD 16,000 (USD 510.09)
Renewal Cost: NTD 8,000 (USD 255.05)
Course Duration: 84 hrs for first-timers / 36 hrs for a refresher course
Valid Period: 4 years
Reasoning: Most governmental projects require companies that are executing the project to have at least 1-3 PCC certificates. The minimum number of certificates required is related to the size and the budget of the project in question. As quality personnel, you will most likely need to present this at the time of your recruitment, and most government projects will require you to have a degree in engineering that matches the field you are going into.
What’s Included:
84-hr or 36-hr lectures x 1
Textbooks x 1
Final Examination x 1International Welding Engineer Certification (IWE)
Useful Rating: 👽👽👽
Value for Money Rating: 👽👽👽
Course Intensity: 💦💦💦💦💦
Initial Cost: NTD 220,000 (USD 7013.74)
Renewal Cost: NTD 0 (USD 0)
Course Duration: 3 months (for a weekend course) / 1 month for a full-time course
Valid Period: Forever
Reasoning: This is a European wind-industry equivalent of a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). This certificate allows you to design and inspect welds for wind fabrications, and there is no renewal fees, unlike CWI. This is an intensive course that contains real practical work and demos, and you will have to be very much on your game every time because you have a quiz every 2 weeks. The fact that they only host it in Kaohsiung City (Taiwan), means that the travel time to the weekend course is also quite intense. Be prepared to sacrifice A LOT of your personal time. Based on my calculation, the cost of maintaining a CWI over 10 years will be the same as this certificate. If you consider the fact that you don’t need to renew it, your certificate will be just as valuable as a CWI if you need it in your profession.
I must admit, there are several typos and errors in the textbooks, quizzes and examination material, so I wasn’t too pleased with the overall quality of the course materials.
What’s Included:
Lectures x 1
In-class Welding demos x 1
Online access x 1
Course Materials x 1
Welding Practicals x 1
Quizzes x (several) [written multiple choices]
Final Examination x 1 [oral]NACE
Useful Rating: 👽👽👽👽👽
Value for Money Rating: 👽👽👽
Course Intensity: ?? (To be verified)
Initial Cost: NTD 115,000 (USD 3666.39) [cheaper if you have membership]
Renewal Cost: NTD ? (USD ? )
Course Duration: 5 days
Valid Period: Forever
Reasoning: The integrity of fabricated structures offshore is greatly impacted by the coating quality in the factory. So this is also one of the main certificates to consider. FROSIO is the euro equivalent of this and requires no renewal fees like IWE. If you think you will be in the industry for a while, and mainly serving in the factory, it’s a good idea to acquire this certificate. This is also useful if you are hired as a consultant.
What’s Included:
Lectures x 1
In-class demos x 1
Online course material x 1
Course Materials x 1
Practicals x 1
Quizzes x (several) [written multiple choices]
Final Examination x 1 [oral]FROSIO
Useful Rating: 👽👽👽👽👽
Value for Money Rating: 👽👽👽
Course Intensity: ?? (To be verified)
Initial Cost: NTD 140,000 (EUR 4000)
Renewal Cost: NTD 0 (USD 0). The examination is not required for renewal
Course Duration: Online Course + 5 days
Valid Period: Forever
Target students:– LEVEL I Those who are interested in coating inspection
– LEVEL II Those with two years of coating work experience
– LEVEL III 5 years of work experience and inspectors within 2 years are required.
You don’t need to start with LELVEL I. The choice is based on personal experience. LEVEL.
Reasoning: The integrity of fabricated structures offshore is greatly impacted by the coating quality in the factory. So this is also one of the main certificates to consider. FROSIO is the euro equivalent of this and requires no renewal fees like IWE. If you think you will be in the industry for a while, and mainly serving in the factory, it’s a good idea to acquire this certificate. This is also useful if you are hired as a consultant.
What’s Included:
This course is in organisation 6+1, it means 6 days of studying + 1 day of exam, in total 7 days in the class+ online education before the course (will be announced).
1. Theoretical part (100%) : All theoretical course materials are online.
2. 3-5 days of In-person Classes: Review + Theory Lessons + Practical part. The lecturers will clarify ideas and answer questions,and review, answer impromptu questions, and discuss results.
3. 1-2 days of Examinations: Examination includes theoretical and practical contents(The number of days depends on the number of participants)
Note that all of these are site-based or factory-based certificates. If you want to go into more managerial roles, consider experiences in project management, and ISOs, or acquire a PMP certificate.
I always advocate having experience over certifications, because unless you have enough experience, all the courses that you take will be way too difficult. You will also fall into the trap of spending too much on certificates and still be unable to acquire the right amount of industry experience. Sometimes companies will ask you to sign a 3+year training agreement to make sure that companies get repaid after you have acquired the courses, so consider all sides of the benefits, and pick the best combination for your situation.
Side notes:
The information above is based on the Maritime Technology Innovation Centre (MITIC)’s pricing handbook in 2023, and the listed price may vary over time. Every course is in Taiwanese dollars in then converted to USD for easy reference.
The asterisk (*) sign indicates that the duration is for a refresher course
