Provision of clean energy in Africa faces short circuit
There's high demand but a shortage of trained workers
In Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 600-million people still lack access to electricity, off-grid renewable power is seen as one of the fastest ways to get energy to where it's needed, particularly to remote and rural areas where many Africans live. But one big challenge stands in the way, experts say: Too few trained workers able to plan, install and maintain solar, wind and other clean energy systems. In power-hungry Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, "we've had very significant challenges finding very capable talent, particularly at the senior management level", said Kweku Yankson, head of human resources in Africa for BBOXX, a clean energy company working to expand off-grid systems in 12 countries from Rwanda to Pakistan. Rwanda, in turn, has what Yankson described as a big pool of job-ready young talent - but still relatively few people trained in clean energy technology. Overall, only 16,000 people are recorded as working in renewable energ...
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