Standing sentinel over farmland scattered throughout rural Northwest Missouri are 79 massive windmills, seemingly unattended.

But someone has to climb to the top of and maintain these behemoth energy producers, by some accounts, one technician for every five or six windmills. North Central Missouri College will soon offer training to fill these positions.

North Central started conversations with Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., and representatives from Wind Capital Group, the company responsible for erecting the massive windmills throughout Northwest Missouri, about 10 months ago. Those conversations led to a program that accepts its first students in January.

Crowder, which has for two decades offered training in alternative energy fields, proved a cost-effective partner with North Central in the wind energy technician program. Students will take a bulk of the classes in Trenton, Mo., on the campus of North Central, and nine hours of credit online through Crowder. The final course consists of an internship at one of the wind farms in Northwest Missouri.

“Obviously we want to meet the needs of the community,” said Dr. Jamie Hooyman, dean of instruction at North Central, “and one of the needs right now is in wind energy.”

Dr. Hooyman asked the wind farm industry what it needs. The answer was technicians with a background in electricity, safety, electronics, basic knowledge about how turbines work, and diagnostics ability. Based on that, a curriculum was developed for a certification program.

“We want to meet the demand without saturating,” Dr. Hooyman said of the certification program, which is generating enough interest to garner three or four inquiries a day. The certification also would be applicable to residential windmills, Dr. Hooyman said.

Northwest Missouri State University was an early participant in the conversation, and already partners with North Central on some programs. Dr. Hooyman said it’s possible that Northwest could play a role in future conversations about a four-year program.

“Especially as our country turns more and more to biofuels and alternative fuels,” Dr. Hooyman said. “We hope to at least stay up with the demand.”

For more information about North Central, visit http://www.ncmc.cc.mo.us/.

Jimmy Myers can be reached

at jimmym@npgco.com.