13 minute read
Unlocking opportunities for female electricians
Unlocking opportunities
for female electricians
The EPC Training Programme and the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has had a positive impact on job creation, targeting, but not exclusively, women and youth. SA BUSINESS INTEGRATOR spoke to Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager, Energy Efficiency at South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and Yolande de Lange, Executive Director at the Institute of Energy Professionals Africa (IEPA), to find out more.
“Although the initial uptake for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for certain classes of buildings in South Africa was relatively slow, we have experienced a sudden increase in activity, as the current deadline for compliance of 7 December 2022 is fast approaching,” says Bredenkamp.
“This has come with a corresponding positive impact on job creation prospects. This can be seen by the numbers of delegates registering for EPC-training with the various institutions offering this training and the number of jobs advertised by not only SANAS-accredited Inspection Bodies, but also for facility managers with an understanding of the EPC regulations. These numbers still need to be quantified, but it is definitely on an upward trajectory.”
Bredenkamp says that buildings have a major role to play in the effort to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. He says EPCs will not reduce energy consumption or carbon emissions but will make a significant impact on visualising how far individual buildings go in achieving this aim, as well as quantifying the quantum of energy efficiency savings required to reach an A-rating, with reduced carbon emissions.
What are the actions of industry players to ensure that businesses are compliant?
Yolanda de Lange says the first step would be for building owners to familiarise themselves with the requirements of the EPC regulation to determine if the building is required to comply.
“Check if the building falls within the building occupancy category and whether the size of the building is larger than the regulation requires, as well as whether the last renovation was done
within the last two years. An understanding of the regulation can assist with managing the initial financial impact of the regulation on the building owner’s bottom line.”
What is the SANEDI and IEPA capacity building initiative targeting electricians to enable them to become compliant with reference to the EPC?
De Lange says that since the SANS1544:2014 Energy Performance Certificate standard was already anticipated more than eight years ago, initially a full qualification called the Energy Efficiency Technician, or Energy Audit Technician, was developed and registered with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO).
“This qualification was used as a basis on which the specific outcomes required to collect, collate, calculate and present data required to produce an EPC following a logical standardised approach was developed to build this course, which ultimately is now registered as a qualification at the QCTO called EPC Practitioner. A number of industry bodies and subject matter experts participated through the development and project management process.”
What has the uptake been?
“The uptake has been great; within a week of advertising we received 173 applications from which 50 students were ultimately selected by the companies that signed up to provide the required work experience. There is now a waiting list of persons wishing to take the course and qualify in the full qualification after taking the course. Around 56% are female students,” says De Lange.
What was the rationale behind targeting predominantly youth and females?
Bredekamp says the rationale is in line with national policy to address the alarming unemployment rate in these sectors, which remain consistently high and unsustainable. “This type of work is ideal for women in the energy industry as the nature of the work is largely consulting, and also project-based, and offers flexible hours,” De Lange adds.
How does the EPC Training Programme impact enterprise and supplier development?
Bredenkamp says the potential EPC market is huge, with many opportunities for many service providers.
“Through targeted training interventions such as this programme, we are able to empower SMMEs with new skills needed to meet the demand for these services, which do not necessarily exist in the South African market right now.”
What is the success rate of the pilot programme?
De Lange says that so far, less than 60% of the students are in permanent employment following the programme. This is mainly due to delays in the assessment processing through the QCTO as a very short timeframe was given to develop the qualification, go through the registration and accreditation processes, which are almost concluded.
“The lessons learnt from the pilot, which all parties contributed to, including the students, mentors, assessors, and steering committee, will assist with the development and deploying future Just Energy Transition projects.
“In addition, the qualification is now available to other colleges to become accredited to provide the course and qualification,” she adds.
The EPC practitioner qualification assists by building on a current artisan qualification, allowing the artisan to have an additional skill over and above others applying for the same job.
“For businesses that are not yet involved in the EPC or the energy field, an artisan can join a company and assist the company to create an
additional service, thereby an additional revenue stream thereby effectively paying their own salaries,” explains De Lange.
What has been the uptake on training initiatives geared towards renewable energy over the past 10 years?
De Lange says renewable energy is different to EPCs in that it is a source of energy, where EPCs are intended to provide buildings owners with a metric to determine how efficiently the energy sources are being used within the building envelope – whatever the energy source is.
“The building’s rating also indicates what opportunities there are to improve the energy performance of the building, which eventually will lead to reduced strain on the electricity grid and financial savings.”
“The one common denominator or integrator for the energy sector globally is the area of ‘digitilisation’, where we see energy technologies and appliances converge with the ICT-sector, to implement SMART and sustainable solutions for endusers of energy and buildings are at the forefront of this ‘revolution’ in the energy sector,” Bredenkamp adds.
What plans does IEPA and SANEDI have to continue upskilling local energy professionals, particularly those wanting to be part of the green economy?
Bredenkamp says EPCs provide the opportunity for building owners, managers and tenants to visualise their energy and carbon impacts in an easyto-understand and simple A-G rating system.
“This way it can alert the high energy consumers to take the necessary remedial steps to improve their EPC-rating (aspiring to achieve an A-rating), which in itself creates more business opportunities for Energy Services Companies (ESCos) and others, who will need to be contracted to do the physical technology retrofits,” he comments.
How do training programmes geared towards building the green economy assist in mitigating the transitional impact from coal-based value chains towards greener energy?
“Firstly, it assists through providing information to determine how to reduce the consumption of buildings and other energy consuming systems so that any alternative and renewable energy options would become more viable. Training in energy and renewable energy is only a small part towards Just Energy Transition, many other careers need to be developed and new economies need to be developed in the areas where coal-based economies are currently active to lessen the impact,” says De Lange.
“EPCs can certainly make a significant contribution to the Just Energy Transition by assisting in the acceleration of the global target for buildings to achieve a 50% Nett Zero target by 2030 and 100% Net Zero Carbon Emissions target by 2050.” Bredenkamp adds.
What is the potential future for local energy professionals in South Africa?
“It is clear from the success and demand of the EPC programme that regulation is what drives commitment to Just Energy Transition and meeting the global environmental goals,” says De Lange.
“The future for energy professionals is very positive, especially now as stimulated by the EPC Regulation, however this could change in an instant if the Regulation is not properly enforced.
“There is currently a shortage of energy professionals with the right qualifications, compared with previous years. We have seen a sharp increase in request for referrals of internationally certified professionals. Sadly, this is the case globally, and our energy professionals are being lured to other countries as opportunities are more lucrative there.”
IEPA EPC Learner: Reneilwe Mphahlele
I was unemployed and it is always important to be on the lookout for programmes that offer job opportunities and also, it was a training programme that was in line with my field. Being a part of the training meant I was going to be professionally exposed, learn and grow. It was a three-month programme that contributes to youth empowerment and job creation, and it helped me in gaining marketable skills. This was a great opportunity for me to grow my knowledge base in energy efficiency and improve my job skills to become more effective in the field.
What was your experience of the course?
Highlights included meeting new people and expanding my professional network. I got to work with a group of people that were goal driven and that contributed a lot to me increasing my productivity. The course structure had a schedule. We knew when to submit assignments and when our test and exam dates were. It was easy for us to know when we were being left behind. It worked for our good.
How has this further empowered you?
This course empowered me in so many ways. I took charge of my destiny. This was an opportunity to become more confident in my ability to make and execute decisions, to understand my strengths, my weaknesses and get motivated. I am grateful to have been a part of an initiative that helped in allowing myself the power to make choices that will definitely push me to achieve my goals.
Although I am still in the job-hunting phase, the EPC training programme has given me a professional network opportunity. I got used to hearing constructive criticism as it is an important part of learning what areas I need to improve. I can safely say it helped a lot in helping improve my sense of well-being as I am actively working towards expanding my abilities and that increased my feelings of accomplishment and happiness.
What are your future goals?
My goal is to become an expert in my field. I want to be able to provide insights that will help me grow and succeed. I am passionate about continuing to learn as an individual, so I plan to take advantage of the many professional development opportunities that will be available to me. Ultimately, I want to increase efficiency and productivity, and to learn new skills so I can keep up with the latest changes and trends in the field.
I would encourage women to enter the energy sector to boost innovation – we are capable of achieving anything we set our minds to.
IEPA EPC Learner: Thato Monareng
I’m not yet an electrician but working towards it. As someone who studied NCV at a college, it has been challenging to get any work experience or even training apprenticeships.
What was your experience of the course?
I got to meet interesting and intelligent people who also contributed to the knowledge and growth I have today about the energy industry. The course was straightforward from both a theory and practical perspective and everything was well put together.
I learned a lot about the energy industry.
IEPA EPC Learner: Tutuza Gajina
I wanted a skill that will make a difference in our everyday life and that will see me though until the end of life.
As South Africans we are facing an electricity crisis due to over-consumption and not enough knowledge about the energy sector. It’s very important we engage ourselves with such programmes.
What are your future goals?
To be a fully qualified electrician, complete apprenticeships/learnerships and gain experience. I want to be an expert in my field, to be a valuable asset and contribute as much as possible to the energy industry and the engineering field.
To bring about change and an opportunity to work on many interesting and innovative projects.
One of the challenges of the course for me was that we had to apply architectural knowledge to read floor plans, which I had no knowledge of in the
beginning. Highlights included the experience, skill, mentorship and professional networking.The course has empowered me with skills and self-confidence.
A permanent job opportunity with one of the best companies, CBRE Excellerate!
IEPA EPC Assessor: Vutivi Shivambu
Tell us a bit about your career journey.
I am a mechanical and energy engineer (Certified Energy Manager and Certified Energy Auditor in Training) by qualification. I am also a developer of Building EPC app and an Assessment Coordinator with more than three years combined experience in the engineering and energy industry.
How did you get the opportunity to be part of the pilot programme?
I was part of the Certified Energy Manager (CEM) interns in 2017-2018 where I was placed in an energy company in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha). We developed a Building EPC app for collecting building data that is required to issue an EPC Certificate.
I had the opportunity to share my experience and knowledge with students, lecturers and mentors regarding the Building EPC.
The challenge was getting building plans that have areas, assessing the lecturer’s facilitation and also getting electricity bills from the college. My highlight was when one of the electricians gave input regarding how to make EPC known as most companies still don’t understand it.
The structure of the course was well designed, and it seemed clear to the electricians what was needed from them as EPC delegates.
What are your future goals?
I want to continue learning and growing to contribute as much value as possible I also want to encourage more women to enter the energy sector as this can help to strengthen economic and social progress.
The opportunity to be a facilitator, and an assessor and moderator for the course, as well as becoming part of the IEPA family full time.
What are your future goals?
My future goal to is to produce more people like me through mentoring, facilitating and assessing EPC assessments so that there will be more EPC practitioners to collect information.
Because women are born leaders and they are very capable.
