The three-year solar training program, organized by the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service in collaboration with the UWZ Partner Africa Project (a German organization getting sponsorship and funds from BMZ through Sequa), held its opening ceremony at the Accra Technical Training Centre.

The event saw many artisans and students troop in to join the workshop to acquire knowledge and skills on how to promote employment and enhance working conditions in Ghana’s electrical sector, with a spotlight on solar PV.

Speaking to Joy Prime’s Lois Shola Adeyemi, Acting Head of Corporate Affairs of Ghana TVET Service, Richmond Agyemang Junior explained that introducing this initiative to schools will go a long way to curb the country’s electricity problems while creating more job opportunities for the youth.

“Solar energy is green, so the need for us to bring Partner Africa on board to create this green energy is a very necessary move. This initiative will help to initially save many homes in Ghana from the national grid, making it easy to gradually become electrical-free. Aside from that, this will create a lot of employment opportunities for our youth,” he said.

He further explained that students participating in the three-year training session will have the tools at their disposal to smooth the learning process. Also, students have the chance to go through this training for free, as opposed to artisans interested in the solar PV training.

International Project Manager for the UWZ Partner Africa Project, Carola Schmidt, further highlighted the importance of growing solar power in Ghana. Ghana has a high chance of solving its power problems by switching to solar as one of its main sources of power, he added.

“We thought that there was a need to support the solar sector in Ghana since the sun is always here and we should benefit from it. We are in a country where citizens and industries suffer from power cuts, and the economy could be better, probably with the support of solar energy. That is why we are here to play our role in supporting the TVET sector by implementing training in solar for artisans, electricians, employees from solar and electrical companies, and anyone who wants to become a solar installer with a background in electrical.

The Head of the Electrical Department and students of the Accra Technical Training Centre also expressed their gratitude to the organization for giving them the opportunity to study more and equip themselves with skills that will enrich Ghana’s electrical sector. This initiative, according to them, has heightened the interest of many students who are ready to lean into solar PV training for the betterment of the country.

The next stop for the workshop is the Ada Technical Institute and Prefos Electrical Training Centre in Kumasi. The Ghana TVET service and the UWZ Partner Africa Project have high hopes of extending this initiative to more schools in Ghana.