Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy building at Ninh Thuan Vocational College (Photo by Nguyen Phuong Hoa / GIZ)

Under the scorching sun in the Central of Viet Nam lies a three-story building with complex machines and modern models of renewable energy systems. This building in Ninh Thuan Vocational College (NTVC), a pioneer institute in energy training, regularly hosts not only students of the school but also teachers from peer colleges who come to learn more about this excellent model of renewable energy vocational training. May was no exception as the college welcomed 13 teachers from seven colleges to further explore the topic of “Fundamental Grid-tied Solar System with Limiter”.

This five-day training from 27-31/05/2024 was organised within the framework of the German Cooperation programme “Reform of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Viet Nam”.

Viet Nam is a country of great potential in solar energy with a tropical climate and long hours of day light. According to Ember (an independent energy think tank), Viet Nam, in 2022, accounts for nearly 70% of South-East Asia’s solar and wind generation[1] and expects more growth in renewable energy as the country is promoting a green transition of its energy sector. By the year 2030, the demand for higher-skilled workers in the power sector is expected to grow by 31%.[2]

Despite growing demand for training, NTVC is one of the few training centers in Viet Nam offering formal training in solar energy. The topic of rooftop solar system, especially the grid-tied solar systems with limiter, is rather new, as shared by trainer of the course, Mr. Nguyen Thai Thuan, teacher at the Electric – Electronic Faculty, NTVC, “especially with our peer TVET colleges as teachers at these schools still have quite limited understanding of the topic”. Therefore, it is crucial that TVET teachers are well equipped with appropriate skills sets and knowledge to ensure up-to-date and demand-oriented training programmes towards creating high-quality technicians. This is a more sustainable solution to long-term development of the solar energy sector in Viet Nam.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Thuan, trainer, explaining measuring devices function (Photo by Nguyen Phuong Hoa / GIZ)

The training was need-based to meet the growing demand for capacity development in the topic of solar energy of seven colleges including Nha Trang College of Technology, Long An Vocational College, Hue Industrial College, College of Machinery and Irrigation VCMI, Ho Chi Minh College of Technology II, LILAMA 2 International Techonology College and Ninh Thuan Vocational College. During the course, in addition to learning theory of grid-tied solar system, participants had the chance to have hands-on experience with solar system simulation and actual equipment: from measuring equipment, grid-tied inverter, solar panels to monitoring and surge protection system. A field trip was also incorporated into the training where participants had a one-day visit to a wastewater management facility to learn more about their rooftop solar system with limiter with 230kW of capacity.

Trainees explore actual solar panels at a waste water treatment plant (Photo by Nguyen Thai Thuan / NTVC)

Trainer and trainees inspect an inverter of an actual solar system at a waste water treatment plant (Photo by Nguyen Thai Thuan / NTVC)

The training was well received by teachers of TVET colleges, as it combined theory and practice, making the learning experience much more engaging with easy-to-follow real-life examples. “I once instructed my students installing a sun-tracking solar system at my college, but it was only in small scale in a workshop. When having this opportunity to observe the systems at NTVC and the enterprise, I was very much impressed”, shared Ms. Duong Thi Hong Nga from Ho Chi Minh College of Technology II, one of the participants.

“After this course, I am confident to go back to my college and share experience and knowledge of the solar energy topic to my colleagues. With the newly acquired knowledge and skills, I will work with my peers to develop curricular for our upcoming training programme on solar energy system, with reference from course materials shared by NTVC”, shared excitedly Ms. Nguyen Thi Dong, teacher at LILAMA 2 College.

Trainings like these enhance linkages among TVET institutes, and also show NTVC’s commitments in becoming a Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energies, under the support of the TVET Programme, contributing to the just transition of the Viet Nam’s energy sectors.

The TVET Programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in cooperation with the Vietnamese Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) under the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

[1] https://en.baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-accounts-for-nearly-70-of-southeast-asia-solar-and-wind-power-111231120154902849.htm

[2] COBENEFITS STUDY, Future skills and job creation through renewable energy in Viet Nam: Assessing the co-benefi ts of decarbonising the power sector (Executive report), International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany