Schneider Electric: We are talking about green energy and smart grid, but education in these fields is lacking

Wind farms, solar energy, smart grids, electric cars, energy efficiency are the main trends that will shape the energy system over the next few years. But despite the advance of certain technologies, a few things are still missing. Education is one of them on the Romanian market, alongside legislation problems, believes Marc Coroler, vice-president of Schneider Electric for Central and Eastern Europe, a group with an around 16 billion-euro turnover specialising in providing services and equipment to the energy industry.

The lack of workforce specialising in green energy was also noticed by local investors whose projects provided employees with their first proper training in the sector.
For instance, the Polytechnic University in Bucharest lacks as yet a faculty specialised in renewable energies, with students of the Power Engineering Faculty acquiring some competencies in the sector, alongside those to do with traditional electric power plants.
“The main trends in the energy sector of the next few years are the smart grid, electro-mobility, i.e. electric cars, and green energy. The problem is that, although we are talking about these things, education, knowledge and skills are lacking for the time being,” Coroler says.