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Local hires and training highlighted as Vineyard Wind moves into operations
Summary
Local employees and state leaders described training pathways, community college support and high-school 'clean energy pathways' designed to funnel island residents into jobs at the Vineyard Wind operations and maintenance facility.
Local workforce development and training were central themes at the Vineyard Wind event on Martha’s Vineyard, where officials and a company technician described specific programs intended to recruit and prepare residents for long-term jobs in offshore wind operations and maintenance.
Gabriel Belabono, a Martha’s Vineyard native and service technician, told the audience he trained through online coursework at Bristol Community College and through hands-on field experience, including sites in Oklahoma and Block Island. "I'm lucky enough to be one of the service technicians out actually working on the towers," he said, and described apprenticeship-style on-the-job training and multiple industry certificates.
Alicia Barton said Vineyard Wind has developed local workforce programs and certificate training to prioritize island residents for operations and maintenance roles, and pointed to investments in port and supply-chain infrastructure that enable those jobs.
Governor Healy said the state budget enabled a "clean energy pathways" program in high schools to teach industry-relevant skills and provide internships with local employers. She also said the administration made community college free for anyone 25 and over this year, a step she tied directly to enabling residents to access training such as that offered through Bristol Community College.
Speakers emphasized on-the-job apprenticeships and union pipelines; Alicia Barton said the project has produced a substantial number of union roles as part of its workforce composition. Local officials and company executives framed those efforts as critical to ensuring year-round employment for island residents who often face high seasonal costs of living.
No formal commitments in the transcript mandated specific hiring quotas or binding local-hire agreements; the statements in the event described company and state commitments and programs intended to increase local participation in the sector.
