Pakistan: Curriculum Development Project for Premier Energy
PAKISTAN: With the increasing demand of sustainable energy solutions in Pakistan, the need for talented trained skillset has become necessary. Hence, Premier Energy are focused upon introducing a high-quality training institute which has an affiliation with an UK Awarding Body to improve the technical expertise of staff as per industrial demands while operating in Pakistan.
NI Colleges worked with Premier Energy to set up suitably certified courses to meet industry needs and help set standards of training within Pakistan. NI Colleges provided consultation to establish a training institute (PremSol) including the structure of UK accreditation bodies. Staff were trained on how to seek accreditation for courses in solar energy, electrical installation and environmental technologies and delivered train the trainer training.
The Project enabled Premier Energy to set up the training institute and gain knowledge exchange and technical expertise from NI Colleges in setting up a centre and delivering UK standard training. Introductions were made to the UK Awarding Body, City & Guilds, exploration of an appropriate delivery model in Pakistan and the obtaining of Centre Approval.
Premier Energy were supported to establish a Quality Management System for the PremSol Training Academy. NI Colleges provided training in Assessor and Internal Verifier roles and responsibilities of each person. Assistance was also provided on how to set up separate workshops for training and assessment and guided staff in Premier Energy in how to set up specific assessment bays with predetermined faults for the testing of candidates.
Northern Ireland (NI) Colleges is an alliance of six regional Further and Higher Education Colleges, located in Northern Ireland (UK), specialising in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Collectively, NI Colleges operate across 40 campuses, resourced by 3,500 professional and technical staff who service some 154,000 annual enrolments. Working alongside a network of 10,000 employers, NI Colleges provides a highly innovative curriculum that ensures learners develop professional and technical skills, increasingly at higher levels, to meet employer needs.
NI Colleges has a successful track record of delivering TVET training and capacity building projects across the globe with 250 international partnerships and over 60 “live” annual projects. It sends 600 students and 220 staff on mobility each year and welcome over 420 visitors to learn, share best practices and explore the cultural aspects of life in Northern Ireland, UK.
The 6 colleges that make up Northern Ireland Colleges are:
The challenge was to support Premier Energy to establish a solar/renewable skills training centre to UK awarding body standards to improve the technical expertise of staff to meet the demands of industry in Pakistan.
The objectives of the project were to:
- Identify and agree an appropriate Awarding Body and gain Centre Approval
- Design an effective quality management system, policies and procedures
- Create support for the administration function of PremSol to include the design of paperwork forms and systems to record completed assessments and evaluations
- Identify and agree appropriate workshop set up for assessments and training to meet the requirements of the Awarding Body
- Produce assessment criteria model answers
- Deliver overview training of the online learning platform Moodle for consideration to implement as part of the PremSol Academy
- Support Premier Energy with the identification of suitable premises to deliver skills training
NI Colleges shared its best practice approach to technical skills development to help Premier Energy to establish the first ever renewable energy Academy in Pakistan. We also utilised our Train the Trainer Model to train the staff of Premier Energy to deliver quality assured programmes enabling them to reach global excellence.
Premier Energy then delivered training to other organisations in the Lahore region and wider within Pakistan offering those delegates the opportunity to receive high quality training through a recognised Awarding Body and thereby, building capacity across the country. PremSol is now a key driver in raising standards of vocational training within its local area and has set its vision to promote the Training Academy throughout Pakistan.
Pakistan has a population of over 20 million people and more than 55% of the population are young people with low literacy rates which means that a very large number of youths seek skills training after finishing school. Premier Energy is already well established across Pakistan and this renewable energy Academy, PermSol, will go some way in improving the image of vocational training across Pakistan.
This project has had a huge impact on Premier Energy’s ability to deliver high standards of training which is helping to fill the solar/renewable skills gap and raising student attainment across Pakistan. PremSol is now a key driver in raising standards of vocational training within its local area and is actively promoting the Training Academy throughout Pakistan.
This project received the British Council International Skills Partnership Award 2017 in the Innovation category in recognition of the partners’ approach to collaborative upskilling, inclusion of the Awarding Body and utilisation of social media to publicise the project and disseminating findings at Policy level.
Further, the project has had an impact in the following ways:
- Offering standardised training with a recognised Awarding Body to deliver training within the renewable energy sector to Premier Energy employees
- Enabling Premier Energy to provide assurance to employers of the quality of its installation services as these are now carried out by a fully qualified workforce
- Enabling PremSol to offer training for other installers working within the renewable energy field and by so doing helping to raise standards of training throughout Pakistan
- PremSol is now established as a leading training provider in the renewable energy sector in Pakistan
