The Quest to Close the Skills Gap in the Renewable Energy Industry
The Quest to Close the Skills Gap in the Renewable Energy Industry
The African Development Bank Approach
The board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved the sum of $7 million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). This step was taken as measures to meet the needs of the continent’s fast-evolving renewable mini-grid industry and to close the skills gap to promote the Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Programme (AMAP).
The expansion of the private mini-grid investment of Africa is the main goal of the Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Program. This comprises of three major components such: the implementation of a new and standardized framework for national-scale Mini-Grid Acceleration Programs (MAPs) in four countries, the support for knowledge, innovation, and skills development activities, the design and enhancement of financial de-risking solutions and the continuation of the Bank’s Green Mini-Grid Help Desk website.
UK Green Homes Grant Skills Training Competition
The Green Homes Grant skills training competition has the intention of addressing the need for efficient energy and to promote low carbon heating supply chains for works under the Green Homes Grant scheme, and to scale up to meet the additional consumer demand generated.
The Green Homes Grant scheme is targeted at addressing the following skills gap concerns:
1. To promote investments in domestic energy supply and low carbon heating through subsidies, and providing succor to industries greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through securing jobs and creating new long-term jobs.
2. Deliver increased carbon savings, promote poverty alleviation in residential sector, for our carbon budget, and accelerate the installation of energy performance upgrades to the housing.
£6.9 million funding is available in this program for winning and is tailor-made to deliver a suite of training solutions to support the Green Homes Grant scheme. Each winner will go away with £1 million for competition project, subject to state aid restrictions. The number of projects that will be funded depends on quality of solutions proposed in relation to the number of entries received in the competition.
India’s Approach to Close Skills Gap
Skill India has inaugurated ta maiden center of excellence, which is aimed at developing skills set that are deficient in the power sector. The Center will provide specialized training to assessors and trainers, which will in turn scale it up to over three hundred beneficiaries. In a significant development and in line with the commitment to skill development and vocational training, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Government of the French Republic and Schneider Electric, announced the inauguration of this maiden Center for skill development in the power sector in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) to initiate and sponsor a platform to produce a high cadre of certified trainers and assessors across the country. This center is located at Gwal Pahari, Gurugram (Haryana).
The Center adopts curtain edge technology, which has high-end modern labs that are designed with the future in view. This will further strengthen India and France’s relationship in the energy sector. The establishment of Center is an output of the agreement or Memorandum of Understanding between MSDE, Ministry of Education-France and Schneider Electric. Further, an operational MoU was signed between National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Schneider Electric India Foundation (SEIF), Power Sector Skill Council (PSSC), and National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) for the establishment of the Centre. This will undertake skill development and high-level training that will boost the field of power and solar.
Inaugurating the Center, Shri. Raj Kumar Singh, Union Minister of State for Power , New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State for Skill Development said,” India is taking rapid strides to move towards renewable energy to accelerate economic development, improve energy security and energy access while mitigating climate change challenges too. He stressed the need for the professional workforce in the energy sector to come together to advance the energy sector for India to become a major player in the world’s renewable energy market. A this will sustain efforts towards boosting the growth of the renewable energy sector and will play a significant role in helping us close the gaps and fulfill the mandate of the Honorable Prime Minister’s vision’. This partnership with the Government of France is a great model and shows the unity and bond of friendship both countries have towards their long-term energy goals.”
The Panora- Irish Approach
Irish Islands is playing a great role in the development of New Energy Approaches. This is exemplified in the recent act of Dublin City University, where they developed a Sustainable Systems and Energy Engineering Master Program. This is considered a welcoming idea by two Irish islands spokesmen now adopting it as a new energy approach. Both Michael Cecil, Rathlin Island Development and Community Association Chairman and Colum O’Connell, Chairman of the Valentia Energy Group in Kerry have welcomed the new courses. This University have enrolled many students in their undergraduate and Masters program of this discipline and is ready to even include courses in Advanced Sustainable Energy Systems, Sustainable Hydrogen Element, and much more.
Dr. James Carton, who is an Assistant Professor in Energy Sustainability and Hydrogen has showered encomiums acknowledging the role the Irish islands in advancing the new academic offering saying, “Cormac Walsh of Energy CoOps Ireland and the ‘Valentia Islands’ project are also concerned with building relationships with the University around our new sustainable Masters offering, working together on a shared learning journey that may include field trips, guest speakers, project supervision and shared research engagements.”
