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Skills Training Is Top Priority At Renewable Tech Center

Skills Training Is Top Priority At Renewable Tech Center

South Africa’s first Renewable Technology Centre is still under construction but administrators are putting the word out that they want technicians to start applying now for training there.

The center will be used as a training facility for renewable energy technicians with the first students expected in April, 2015.

The center — the first of its kind in Africa, according to CNBCAfrica — is being built at a cost of 105-million rand ($9.57 million) with skills training as the No. 1 priority.

But only experienced technicians are invited to apply, according to Senior Adviser Dieter Sommer, in a CNBCAfrica video.

The center is a collaboration between higher education institutions in the Western Cape.

Howard Fawkes is project manager of SARETEC, the South Africa Renewable Technology Centre.

The center will provide training and education in renewable energy, he said. Technicians studying there will learn how to install, operate and maintain the country’s wind turbines and solar energy facilities. They’ll study theory and practical aspects of utility-scale wind and solar-photovoltaic energy.

The center is also developing short courses for rooftop photovoltaics, domestic, commercial and other training courses related to renewable energy.

Professionals with at least two years of experience working in mechanical, electrical and megatronic fields (a combination of mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer engineering) are invited to apply, Sommer said. Also welcome are people who already have national diplomas.

Students will get five-plus months of training at the center. They’ll be certified as service technicians after eight months.

The center hopes to play a pivotal role in country’s renewable energy space, CNBCAfrica reports.