Contents

Solar Energy on the Rise
Getting into the industry
Trusted Training Provider since 2012
Become a professional PV Installer
PV Experts needed
Take your chance

The solar industry is one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa. At the moment, the interest in the technology is huge as it provides a cost-effective and easy way to become energy independent. In times of massive load shedding, companies are suffering from the frequent power cuts. But especially small enterprises and shops can benefit from solar energy generation and use it as a simple solution to back-up their offices.

Even before the power crisis, people started to discover the benefits of generating their own electricity and the increasing demand now offers various employment and business development opportunities. With our training courses we create the perfect entry point for anyone who wants to join this new industry.

What is important when you are getting started with your business? Or when you are looking for a job in the solar industry? You want to pick up skills as effective and fast as possible.

We offer a 5-day training course, the SuperSolarSchool that provides you with exactly that. It offers an overview of all steps that are relevant for solar installations. You get solid knowledge of all those fields and have a basis to decide what you want to specialise in.

As a next step, you can do further qualifications. For planning and design we have a 3-day advanced course, the Designer for Commercial Size Systems and a 1-day course on software design with PV Sol.

Following the approach of the German Solar Energy Society DGS, we started our trainings in South Africa in 2012, still under the name of maxx-solar academy then. Over time, we founded branches also in the neighbouring countries and improved the course programme with every training we offered.

By now, we have created an academy that follows a unique approach. We are working closely with our trainers to develop our courses. The majority of them have their own PV company so we can make sure that the trainings are 100% practice relevant. All training courses have a significant share of practical exercises and combine modern teaching methods with time-efficient learning.

To go even further, we have created Africa’s largest network of PV Installers. In frequent meetings we keep in touch with our graduates and help them to connect with each other and important players in the industry.

PV Installations are not rocket science. Nevertheless, you should know what you are doing and stand out from the masses. Our training courses equip you with the necessary skills and certification.

Our 5-day training course SuperSolarSchool is the official SAPVIA PV GreenCard preparation course. We are also nationally accredited by SAIEE, the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. For attending the SuperSolarSchool you get 4.5 CPD points. The course is also internationally accredited by the German Solar Energy Society DGS.

After the training, you can achieve the SAPVIA PV GreenCard Installer Qualification by going through an assessment in our assessment centre in Johannesburg. The Assessment centre was established in 2017 as the second centre in the country. Various manufacturers contributed to the equipment of the centre to support the PV GreenCard programme, e.g. IBC Solar, Hellermann Tyton and Resolution Circle.

The PV GreenCard is a voluntary quality assurance programme by SAPVIA, the South African PV Industry Association. Accredited PV GreenCard Installers are allowed to issue PV GreenCards for their PV installations to prove that they follow SAPVIA’S installation guidelines and quality standards. It can be compared to a CoC (Certificate of Compliance) for PV Systems, but on a voluntary basis.

Our trainings are not only trusted by individuals and newly founded businesses, also municipalities and corporates are sending their staff members to get trained and achieve official PV installer certification. For example, we developed a training course for the City of Tshwane to teach their own staff members and trained their staff. We also offered a training for youth funded by the Social Development Fund to introduce them to career opportunities in the solar branch.

The GREEN team also brings in a lot of international experience that they gathered during training courses in Germany and other countries. They realised trainings and projects in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, of which many were executed on behalf of the German Solar Energy Society DGS. The topics were mostly teaching and off-grid and back-up solar technology.

The energy market in South Africa is in quite an interesting state at the moment. Frequent power failures due to insufficient power generating capacities cause problems all over the country. As a result, it is no wonder that solar PV technology is becoming more and more popular. Especially backup systems, solar systems with battery storage that provide electricity in times of power failure are a popular product. Over the past years, solar energy has proven that it can provide a significant contribution to the country’s energy supply and by now over 94 MW of roof-top solar PV is installed in South Africa.

Nevertheless, it is still a common misunderstanding that solar modules instantly provide load shedding cure. Additionally to the solar modules a battery storage and a special inverter is needed that can create an island grid. These backup systems are mostly used in residential areas. For commercial and utility size usually grid-tied solar systems are installed. Those systems are made to generate electricity to cover a company’s or a city’s power demand from the power of the sun.

For all sectors of solar installations, skilled personnel are needed to meet the increasing demand. The tasks in the solar industry are quite diverse. There is hands-on work for technicians and mounters in the field of installation, commissioning and connecting of solar systems and a high portion of electrical works. Planning and design of PV systems, as well as project and construction site management falls under engineering. After the installation, there is maintenance and monitoring to be done which can also be executed either by technicians. And of course, also marketing and administration staff is needed for solar companies.

In our courses we train all the different kinds of staff together in one class because we think that it is important to know the whole value chain. PV planners must know what is going on on site, even though they are not the ones installing the actual solar system and vice-versa. To specialize in a certain field, we offer advanced level courses, e.g. on installation, software-based design or the planning of commercial size PV.

As a result of all the experience we have and our unique approach, you can expect a very high level of quality and professionalism in all our training courses. For us, the most important goal is to support your career in the solar industry and make it as easy as possible to find your personal way.

Sign up today and become part of the GREENetwork!