Next year will see the Renewable Energy Academy of West Africa attempt to train 1,000 Nigerians in the renewable energy sector. The school, set to begin in 2012, will include a variety of specialized programs supported by Germany’s RENAC AG and other sponsors.
The Academy’s Chief Executive Emmanuel Emielu said, “We must invest in developing the entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to achieve a massive diffusion of renewable energy technology in Nigeria and across Africa because it is the entrepreneurs that will create the jobs and make the investments for the growth of the sector.”
Emielu told Alternative Energy Africa that programs could run as long as one to two years. “We have proposals at the moment to train some of Niger Delta Amnesty products and also looking to talk to some state governments after the electiosn to adopt it as an employment creation program for youths.” The classes will be similar to vocational training, and while there isn’t a particular field within renewable energy that the Academy will primarily focus, Emielu said that they found solar to generate the most interest.
Emielu said that while renewable energy could be a “development enabler” for Africa, there was a gap in education and skills development.
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