UPNG CoRE on Monday 7th June kicked off a 1-week sustainable energy training of trainers workshop for selected instructors, inspectors and coordinators from TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) institutes throughout Papua New Guinea. A total of 25 participants attended from Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Madang, East New Britain, Milne Bay, Central and NCD. The workshop aimed to introduce and upskill potential instructors to be able to implement the Sustainable Energy National Certificate 1, 2, 3 and 4 with a focus on energy efficiency & management, solar photovoltaic systems and microhydro systems.
The workshop was part of the larger “Facilitating Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Applications for Greenhouse Emission Reduction Project” or FREAGER (the ‘Project’) which is a partnership between UNDP and GEF which is an ambitious endeavour to demonstrate the potential of renewable and energy efficient technologies in PNG. Specifically for this workshop, the Pacific Centre of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (PCREEE) supported by adding a few more participants, through their initiative of supporting new sustainable energy businesses with an appropriately skilled workforce.
UPNG CoRE’s association with this proposed PNG TVET Sustainable Energy Programme goes back to 2015 when the team met the PNG-Dept of Education TVET Programme Coordinator Mrs Violet Gerega met on a flight from Nandi to Port Moresby. Based on that initial conversion we supported DoE/TVET under the EU-PACTVET programme and now we have come back with the support of UNDP and GEF, and more recently PCREEE, to what we hoping to call the finishing touches before the programme is approved by the Board.
The facilitation of the workshop was a collaborative effort between the TVET Branch, Climate Change and Development Authority and UPNG CoRE. The interactive workshop was facilitated by CoRE engineers Ms Darlen Lovi and Mr Damien Sonny involved group presentations, demonstrations, and laboratory activities. The training also included a week-long evening workshop on the newly introduced “Competency-Based Training and Assessment Principles & Concepts”.
