Schneider Electric And Eastlands College Of Technology Inaugurates A New Electrical Laboratory To Enhance Training And Entrepreneurship

Schneider Electric, through its Foundation has supported Eastlands College of Technology (ECT) in equipping an Electricity and Solar Energy laboratory for the Electrical department.

The partnership between Schneider Electric and ECT will see the implementation of a three-year qualifying Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering specialized in Telecommunications, an Accredited course in electricity (Electrical wireman and Solar Installations) and a three-month Certificate course in solar energy (Solar Photovoltaic) leading to an ERC certification.

In addition, ECT will implement a micro entrepreneurship module disseminated in all the electricity and
energy related training courses thereby raising awareness around entrepreneurship and equipping the
trainees with skills to start their own enterprises.

Finally, Schneider Electric will upskill the capacity of trainers at ECT through training of trainers.

Eastlands College of Technology (ECT) is a Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurial Training
Institution sponsored by Strathmore Educational Trust, to offer market oriented and demand driven
courses following the Dual Training System especially to the underprivileged youth.

The College reaches out to unemployed/untrained youth, middle level labourers as well as micro entrepreneurs
between 18 and 35 years old in the greater Nairobi area. Since it opened its doors in 2015, ECT has
welcomed over 1000 students from the neighbouring areas to receive training in Electronics and
Electrical Technology.

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“The lack of well trained electricians and engineers in the electrical and energy fields is a major
obstacle to the successful and sustainable development of a number of regions in emerging
economies “, says Edouard Heripret, General Manager East Africa, Schneider Electric.

“At Schneider Electric, we believe that Access to Energy is a fundamental right and our commitment
is to promote sustainable development and provide safe and clean access to energy. Providing the
greatest population with access to energy entails the implementation of simple, efficient and affordable
solutions from Solar lanterns to decentralized microgrids” noted Mr Heripret.

Mr Andrew Olea, the Project Manager of ECT, opined that it is through such collaborations with key
players in the Private sector as Schneider Electric, that the country’s technical training landscape can
be revamped and our youth given hope for a decent future of gainful employment.

The College is located off Lunga Lunga rd – Industrial Area – Nairobi. It houses four equipped
workshops for practical classes to provide training on Domestic and Industrial electricity applications
that use high and medium voltage, Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Specialized welding
and Automotive Engineering.

Over the years, ECT in partnership with strategic companies and other stakeholders, has devised
specially tailored courses to serve industry while paying particular attention to hands-on training to
ensure that the future workers are equipped with technical and soft skills in order to be more
productive.

For Schneider Electric, this initiative falls under the Access to Energy programme, which aims to
address three key issues in emerging economies:
• Innovation – To build adequate dedicated offers to combat the of lack of equipment
• Business – To provide financial resources to support the creation of innovative companies
in the electricity market
• People – To provide training in energy management to overcome the shortage of expertise

In its current setup, the College can host a total of 600 young trainees and will be expected to train
100 students every year in the Electrical and Renewable Energy curriculum.