This February, our Secretary General, Julie Beaufils, visited Barcelona for a series of insightful meetings. The trip was the perfect occasion to connect with FEGiCAT, the Catalonian association who recently joined EuropeOn, and to speak at SolarPower Europe’s Solar Quality Summit.
Meeting with FEGiCAT and Visiting Training Schools
The trip started with a visit to our Catalonian members at FEGiCAT (Federació de Gremis d’Instal·ladors de Catalunya), which was a precious opportunity to discuss the situation of the electrical contracting sector in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Besides, Julie had the opportunity to meet the new president of FEGiCAT, Eric Monet, right before his election. Congrats to Eric for his new role and good luck in this new adventure!
The meeting continued with the visit of two training schools operated by local installer associations Egibcn (Escola Gremial d’Electricitat i Fontaneria de Barcelona), a stone’s throw away from the famous Sagrada Familia church, and Aemifesa Formació, located in Badalona, in the north-east of Barcelona. These two centres skill and upskill students, equipping them with knowledge and hands-on experience in the latest technologies. They even have a solar PV training classroom on their terraces!
Discussions touched on a major challenge for electrical contractors in Catalonia: 85% of installer companies have fewer than five employees. While this allows them to provide highly localised services, it also poses difficulties in taking on apprentices and attracting new talent. Our General Secretary was surprised to hear that the shortage of installers in Catalonia reaches close to 40% of the total workforce of the sector, a percentage that is even higher than reports from other countries. Addressing these workforce challenges remains a key priority for EuropeOn and all its members.
Addressing skills at the Solar Quality Summit
Following a day with our members, Julie attended the Solar Quality Summit, an annual event organised for O&M, EPC and Asset Management by our counterparts from SolarPower Europe and Intersolar.
She spoke on the panel “Strengthening Skills for Excellence in the PV Sector.” She stressed the urgent need to adequately tackle the workforce shortage in the electrical sector through strong technical education (VET) and up-skilling, rather than indulging in the “six-weeks wonder” of short training. As highlighted by Julie and other speakers from the panel, it is important that competence standards are met in order to ensure (fire) safety for the workers and end-users.
She emphasised: “We need to provide jobs that are attractive and that ensure quality installations. Strong initial education must be paired with specialised courses.”
The panel discussion also addressed broader workforce challenges, including the need to debate labour migration and productivity improvements.
EuropeOn also took the opportunity to showcase the excellence in solar skills development through the two EU projects we are involved in: Increase and RESkill4NetZero.
