21 SOLAR TECHNICIANS TRAINED IN KITGUM DISTRICT
Starting 18th to 22nd October 2018 CREEC trained 21 solar technicians in Kitgum district. As one takes a walk around Kitgum town most especially during the market days, one of the things that one will observe are the solar PV products like solar panels and solar lanterns which are sold in an ordinary market like other ordinary goods. Unfortunately, the availability of these solar products does not directly match with the availability of skilled personnel to set up solar systems in the community. Majority of the solar technicians that CREEC had the opportunity to interact with originally had just enough knowledge to set up specific solar PV products but did not have enough theoretical knowledge solar PV installations.
Participants during a practical session with a solar training kit
With support from the Lutheran Worldwide Foundation-Uganda program, CREEC in partnership with Energy without Borders offered a hands-on training for 21 solar technicians in Kitgum District. The selection of the candidates was done by LWF as the same technicians will play a supportive role to the TEKO WA sustainable energy project where one if the activities will be the distribution of solar PV systems to selected beneficiaries in both Kitgum and Pader districts. After the training, participants were able to size and set up solar systems for different home sizes.
CREEC has used solar technician trainings to improve the quality of solar energy installations which encourages the uptake of the solar energy technology. Since its inception in 2001, CREEC has trained over 500 technicians nationally and the center has recently got her recognition as an assessment center by the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) to provide competence-based assessments in line with Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework (UVQF). The center holds three periodic solar technicians in Kampala, Uganda but will be broadening the training spectrum with more trainings to be held in off-grid communities in Uganda.The centre also participated in the TEKO WA sustainable energy fair with support from Power Africa Uganda Electricity Supply Accelerator(PAUESA) and Uganda Solar Energy Association (USEA) creating on climate change and encourage people to adopt sustainable forms of energy.