From 11 to 23 June, 2018, 15 teachers from various TVET institutes in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province acquired extensive knowledge and skills regarding the usage of solar power during the training on “Installation and Design of Photovoltaic (PV) Systems”, which took place at Ly Tu Trong College in Ho Chi Minh City. The training was conducted by multipliers from LILAMA 2 International Technology College (LILAMA2) and shows the growing ability of LILAMA 2 to fulfil the function of a hub for further training offering tailor-made training courses for teaching staff of other TVET institutes in the region.

 The three experienced teachers from LILAMA 2 and Mr Nguyen Minh Duc from Ly Tu Trong College, who received intensive training on solar power in Germany, conducted theoretical and practical sessions for the participants with the support of Mr Michael Stark, Development Advisor of GIZ.. At first, the participants got introduced to technical basics of solar energy and to  used equipment in this field of generating energy. Practical exercises since the first week gave participants the opportunity to experience the installation and operation of PV generators in a laboratory dimension.

The training was not only conducted in the laboratory and workshop environment, participants also understood and practiced the installation of an off-grid PV-generator sized for the typical Vietnamese household. The  12-day training course resulted in the layout development, planning, assembling and commissioning of an 1.2 kW Hybrid-PV-generator under the bright sky of Ho Chi Minh City. This solar generator will be used at Ly Tu Trong College to produce pollution-free and cost-free electric energy..

Vietnam is a country with high solar power potential, with the average solar radiation comparable to countries like Spain or Italy. The country expects up to 12% annual growth in power consumption from now to 2020, and aims at generating 10% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. These targets show high needs and potentials of Vietnamese solar power market, which results in a high demand for skilled workers for assembling and constructing photovoltaic power plants.

The training, which was conducted in collaboration with Ly Tu Trong College and Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) Asia, is therefore highly relevant and reflects the participants’ effective application of the occupational skillset in solar power. This activity takes part within the component “Support of Centres of Excellence for TVET”as part of the Vietnamese-German Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam. The programme is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).