From the Texas Tribune: Texas wind energy firms need more technicians. Can they drum up student interest without state support?

A look at the labor supply.

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. . . Texas leaders have publicly committed to creating pipelines for Texans to join well-paying, high-demand fields, but the state has done little to funnel more young people into wind energy jobs. Political backing for the wind sector has waned in recent years as Texas Republicans have rushed to prop up the oil and gas industry. Notably, state lawmakers ended a program last year that gave wind companies a tax break in exchange for making investments in local schools, giving them a chance to introduce the idea of a career in the wind industry early in students' lives.

Without state help, the wind energy companies have taken matters into their own hands, developing their own in-house training programs and visiting high schools to drum up students’ interest in wind. But it’s unclear if the sector can overcome on its own the lack of political support and widespread training that workforce development experts say are needed to connect young Texans with the wind-related jobs of tomorrow.