List of training institutions and material

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Training personnel

A cornerstone for the successful establishment and maintenance of an off-grid solar (OGS) project is its personnel. During the construction of the plant, care should be taken to train them beforehand. Before entering a solar plant, the employee needs a hazard briefing including health and safety regulations. The operation and maintenance (O&M) of the facility should be carried out by trained staff who meet the relevant qualifications to work safe, accountable and responsible. Especially in rural, emerging markets this can be challenging as qualified personnel is not always available. Therefore developers should consider offering their employee standard training which is provided by public training institutes and international organisations as well as further education opportunities for instance in the form of certifications/ diplomas. A selection of training institutions in the OGS sector can be found in Table 1. The industry is changing fast, and so is the technology. Therefore a developer should create a continuous internal and external training scheme, including opportunities for qualification and development.

Table 1: List of off-grid solar training institutions and materials (own extended illustration based on USAID, 2022)
Name Area of action Description
Renewables Academy (RENAC) Worldwide, online RENAC is a provider for training and capacity building on renewable energy and energy efficiency based in Germany. Additionally to solar energy, they also offer courses on other renewable energy sources as well as on business development. The offer includes a variety of ready-made trainings for individuals, tailor-made trainings for industry and organisations and academic programmes. The formats take place online or on-site at the RENAC training center in Berlin. In addition to the regular training programmes, RENAC also offers projects in partnership with other organisations in developing countries. These are usually free through financial support by third parties.
Energy Delivery Modes (EDM) Training by UNITAR Online The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) offers a wide range of courses and training activities for a diverse audience. The free EDM training aims to build staff capacity to support the integration of energy access and sustainable delivery models of modern energy services into humanitarian and development programming. It is based on the EDM Toolkit developed by IIED and CAFOD. The course consists of three modules:
  • Module 1: Introduction to Energy Access in Displacement Contexts
  • Module 2: Hands-on Design of Energy Delivery Models
  • Module 3: Developing & Managing Your Energy Project
Cornerstone of rural electrification (CORE) Online The CORE initiative was jointly launched by ARE, ICA, IRENA, SforAll, UNEO and UNIDO to address the immense capacity building and technical assistance needs to support the development of DRE systems. It offers technical assistance to Practitioners on aspects related to improving safety, efficiency and reliability of decentralised electrification projects; Communities (especially women) on productive use of electricity; and to Governments on enhancing the policy and regulatory framework in support of decentralised electrification.
Asteven Renewable Energy Academy Nigeria, UK Asteven Energy is the first Innovation Enterprise Institution(IEI) approved by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and accredited by Nigeria’s National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to offer a National Innovation Diploma (NID) in Solar Energy Technology. It is accredited by the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) as a recognized institution for training and certification in Solar Photovoltaic (Off Grid) Installation in Nigeria.

Offers:

  • Solar Photovoltaik installation training (SPVI) For beginners and for those with limited knowledge
  • National Innovation diploma in solar energy technology
Ashdam Solar Academy Nigeria, online Ashdam Solar specialized in design, installation and O&M of off-grid solar systems in Nigeria. They offer a variety of online courses, including basic information of renewable energy generation over system configuration and installment to customer service. Furthermore they have several onsite and blended (online and onsite) courses. One example is the “Solar Queen Program” which explicitly addresses women.
Blue Camel Energy Academy Nigeria, online The academy provides a range of online and onsite (tailored) training services for the renewable energy industry. Excerpt from the course list:
  • Solar Photovoltaic Installation and supervision (SPVIS)
  • Solar street lightning
  • Technical vocational education & training TVET)
  • Energy management course
  • Solar system sizing & maintenance
  • Finance
Ecowatt Nigeria Nigeria Ecowatt is a solution provider for sustainable development with focus on affordable and clean energy development. The company offers hands-on training courses and workshops which can vary from standard to tailor-made courses. They also organize trainings and study tours to Germany/Europe.
  • Due Diligence for Solar
  • Industrial and Commercial
  • Energy Audit Training
  • ISO 50001 Energy Management System EnMS
GreCo Academy Online GreCo Academy provides quality training that covers the entire solar energy value chain from finance, marketing, management policy-making and solar engineering. They also offer a variety of free courses. Excerpt of course offer:
  • Basics of how to start a solar business
  • Business and Finance
  • Energy efficiency in buildings
  • Customer service
  • Policies and regulations
  • Homer software
  • Data collection
National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) Nigeria NAPTIN is a parastatal training institute under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Power. In this context it offers training and certification among others for generation companies (GenCos) & distribution companies (DisCos), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). Excerpt of course offer:

Technical courses:

  • NGSDP (Graduate skills development programme)
  • NTSAP (Technical skills acquisition programme)
  • PGD (Post graduate diploma in Power system O&M)
  • On-the-job training

Non technical courses:

  • Leadership & Management
  • Marketing & Customer Service
  • Electricity trading, regulation & pricing
  • Other, non-technical & soft-skills
Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute (RETTI) Online The training institute provides tailored education within and across the value chain of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Design and Installation
  • Safety course
  • Maintenance
  • Business and entrepreneurship
  • Starting a profitable solar business
  • Import
Rubitec Academy Nigeria Rubitec Limited is a leading Nigerian renewable energy company. Rubitec Academy is an initiative to partner with academic and training institutions in Nigeria and abroad in developing future leaders in Renewable Energy and Environmental Science through a 1-year workplace training programme. Requirement is experience in the field.
  • SPVI
  • SPVIS
  • Minigrid designer