GWO Basic Safety Training: the modules, WINDA and renewal

The five modules

Basic Safety Training is five modules: First Aid, Manual Handling, Fire Awareness, Working at Height and Sea Survival. Sea Survival is for offshore work; onshore sites ask for the other four.

Version 20 of the standard, in force since 10 March 2026, brought initial and refresher training into one document and added walk-to-work gangway content to Sea Survival. Training delivered against older versions ended its grace period on 10 September 2026.

• Global Wind Organisation: Basic Safety Training standard
• Global Wind Organisation: BST standard, version 20

WINDA, the record behind the certificate

Everyone taking a GWO course first creates a profile in WINDA, the GWO training record database, and receives a WINDA ID. The ID has to be given to the training provider before the course, or the training is not accepted by GWO and its members. Your records sit in WINDA, where you can view and print them and employers can verify them.

• WINDA: for participants
• WINDA: register

Who may deliver it

Only training providers certified by a GWO-approved certification body may deliver GWO training and record it in WINDA. GWO lists them, and WINDA shows them on a map by module and country.

GWO's requirements for providers include a medical self-assessment: before training, the participant declares that they are physically and medically fit to take part, and the provider stops the training if there is doubt. No medical certificate or age requirement appears on GWO's pages.

• Global Wind Organisation: find a certified training provider
• WINDA: training providers map
• Global Wind Organisation: requirements for training providers

How to get it

GWO sets the standard and keeps the record; the certified provider runs the course.

1. Register in WINDA Create a participant profile and note your WINDA ID.
2. Pick a certified provider From GWO's list or the WINDA map, filtered by the modules you need and your country. Offshore work needs all five modules, including Sea Survival.
3. Give the provider your WINDA ID before the course Without it the training is not recorded and not accepted.
4. Check your record After the course your training record appears in WINDA. Employers check it there.

• WINDA: register
• Global Wind Organisation: find a certified training provider
• WINDA: for participants

How long it lasts and how to renew

Each module's training record is valid for 24 months, initial and refresher alike. Refresher training has to be taken before the current record expires, and it requires a valid WINDA record for the module. Once a record has expired, the participant takes the full initial module again.

• Global Wind Organisation: BST standard, version 20
• Global Wind Organisation: BST refresher standard
• Global Wind Organisation: requirements for training providers

Basic Technical Training, the companion standard

For people with no previous experience of mechanical, electrical or hydraulic systems, GWO publishes Basic Technical Training: mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, bolt tightening, installation mechanical and installation electrical modules, plus a hazardous energies safety module. It prepares a participant for the employer's own training on the turbine type. The text of the standard we could read states no validity period or refresher for it.

• Global Wind Organisation: Basic Technical Training standard