Qualified staff for the shift to
renewable energy in Senegal

The government of Senegal wants to increase the share of renewable energies to 30 percent by 2025 and is focusing primarily on the expansion of wind and solar energy. Several energy parks have already been connected to the grid in recent years. The private sector, which already provides more than half of the electricity generated in the country, plays an important role in this process. But Senega, like other countries, lacks qualified technicians to build additional capacities and maintain the plants. Companies in the renewable energy sector have difficulties filling vacancies and often have to rely on staff without the special knowledge that is necessary to work with the new technologies.

This situation also affects the private company Société d’Économie d’Énergie et d’Électromécanique (ENERGECO). Founded in Dakar in 1982, ENERGECO sells and installs its own solar energy systems, especially for rural electrification, as well as solar-powered water pumps and machines for processing agricultural products. With the support of Invest for Jobs through its Facility Investing for Employment, ENERGECO will now invest in the training of renewable energy professionals.

ENERGECO will set up a private vocational training centre in Dakar under the name "Green Energy Training Centre" (GETC). The content of the trainings will be developed in close coordination with the Ministry of Vocational Training and tailored to the needs of the Senegalese labour market. Official accreditation as a vocational school by the ministry is also planned. The courses are aimed at young people who are at the beginning of their professional careers and at professionals with further training needs. One- to two-year apprenticeships and continuing training in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency will be offered. The vocational training centre will also provide advisory services for private companies.

Participants can train to become technicians, installers, auditors, and project managers. At the basis of the training is a dual curriculum in which participants spend a large part of their time in partner companies.

Four universities in Senegal – Thiès, Diourbel, Ziguinchor, and Saint Louis – as well as the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) have joined the project. The universities in Senegal will provide the premises where ENERGECO can conduct the training courses.

The project will create 89 new jobs at the training centre in Dakar within three years, and a total of 52 at the training hubs of the Senegalese partner universities. The new employees will work in administration and teaching. It is predicted that 400 of the 500 graduates who will participate in the various education and training programmes will subsequently be offered jobs at ENERGECO and other companies. If participants who take part in in-job courses are included, a total of 1,700 people are expected to successfully complete the various training programmes over the course of three years. In addition to creating jobs, the newly established training centre will also help drive the expansion of renewable energies in Senegal and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

ENERGECO will invest a total of 2.07 million euros to build the vocational training centre. The Facility Investing for Employment grants a subsidy of 1.03 million euros (50%). The funds provided by the Facility will mainly be used for construction activities in Dakar and for the technical equipment of the training centre.

The Facility Investing for Employment (IFE) of KfW Development Bank is part of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With its support, the Facility wants to remove barriers that prevent the creation of new and better jobs in the private sector.