Late last year, Ghana established a new Solar Training Centre, a facility committed to increasing the employment rate of young university students in the solar industry by shaping their skills and knowledge early on in a way the industry needs. The training centre and the internship programme that follows the training were made possible by two leading players in the solar energy industry, GREEN Solar Academy and Valentin Software, with support from develoPPP, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Local support in the form of state-of-the-art equipment and commitment to offering the first internships to graduates of the training centre is provided by Tino Solutions, a Ghanaian installer and distributor of solar equipment.
The Solar Training Centre is a dedicated space at the campus of Takoradi Technical University (TTU) that from now on will be the home of practical and application-focused solar photovoltaic training. It has been equipped with the latest material to offer practical solar trainings tailored to the experience of the applicants and the demands of the local PV industry in Ghana. It has the latest equipment from leading global solar brands such as Victron Energy, Jinko Solar, Phocos and Fronius.
Serving the needs of Ghana’s solar energy industry
The practical, hands-on training is based on the successful GREEN SuperSolarSchool, and combined with the internship that follows, is geared towards the needs of the local renewable energy industry in Ghana to ensure that students enter the job market with the right skills to secure employment.
B-Tech graduates and final year students interested in a career in solar energy will spend three weeks focusing on PV basics, planning (manually and with Valentin Software’s PV*SOL), installation, operation, maintenance and economic aspects. University lecturers have already spent a year undergoing technical and didactical training with GREEN Solar Academy that qualifies them to teach the content to students.
Internship can lead to permanent employment
Following the 3-week training period, an internship programme will be implemented to actively support the employment of these graduates. Interns will be accommodated by companies who are members of the Solar Hub West Africa, a loose network of African and European solar companies cooperating to promote renewable energy in West Africa, and those who demonstrate the right aptitude will be offered permanent employment.
The seeds of this project were first planted when GREEN Solar Academy, Takoradi University, the KYA Energy Group as well as European partners such as Valentin Software formed the cooperation known as The Solar Hub West Africa.
Collaboration with global solar brands
Equipping the centre was made possible through collaboration with global solar brands such as Phocos, Victron, Jinko Solar and Fronius, as well as through a partnership with successful Ghana solar installer and distributor, Tino Solutions, who has supported the centre with Victron Energy inverters and batteries and Jinko Solar modules.
See also: Sub-Saharan African countries with record spike in renewables investment
The Solar Training Centre at TTU will hold its official inauguration in mid-February 2022, when representatives from the international partners involved in its creation will travel to Ghana to attend the festivities, and will start to operate on a full-time basis shortly after that. (mfo)
