Central Asia seeks specialists for green energy

Central Asian governments need to gear their education systems more towards the growing demands of renewable energies. This was stated by participants at the Central Asian Climate Change Conference CACCC-2026 in Astana. With increasing investment in solar and wind power, the gap between the demand from companies and the available skilled workers is also growing. Turkmenistan's Deputy Minister of Education, Azat Atayev, said that Turkmenistan is increasingly investing in renewable energies despite its traditional strength in oil and gas. At the same time, the country needs to train a new generation of specialists who can put this change into practice. "In Turkmenistan, we are rich in oil and gas, but we are also continuing to develop wind and solar energy plants with a capacity of up to 10 megawatts," Atayev said at a press conference during the event. Education systems to move closer to industry Atayev emphasized that the expansion of the infrastructure could only work if the right skilled workers were trained at the same time. The decisive factor is which skills will be needed in the future energy sector and how universities and training institutions will respond to this. Turkmenistan is therefore specifically analyzing the gap between curricula and labour market demand. Future studies should show which qualifications in areas such as energy, transportation and logistics will be particularly in demand in the future. "Once we have identified discrepancies, we use a skills gap analysis to determine which qualifications are needed and which are currently lacking," said Atayev. On this basis, universities are now preparing projects that are more closely aligned with the requirements of the green transformation. An important part of the strategy is a closer connection between universities and companies. Students are to receive more practice-oriented training so that they can later be deployed directly in industrial projects. Atayev emphasized that this approach is not only important for the energy transition, but for all sectors of the economy. Skills shortage as a risk for the expansion of renewable energies The issue is becoming increasingly urgent in Central Asia. The region's governments are planning to build up to 8 gigawatts of new solar and wind power capacity in the coming years. However, the pace of project development is already outstripping the ability of the education and training systems to provide a sufficiently qualified workforce. "The transition to clean energy is not just about technology and investment. Above all, it needs specialists who can design, build and maintain the energy systems of the future," said Batyr Mamedov, Managing Director of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC). He referred to the region's great potential in solar and wind energy. To ensure that this potential does not just exist on paper, companies and universities need to work more closely together and develop common standards. At the conference, representatives from CAREC, OSCE, GIZ and other organizations discussed how educational programs can be better adapted to the needs of the market. The focus was on practical training, stronger cooperation with the private sector and joint regional initiatives. One expected outcome is the signing of memoranda of understanding between technical universities in Central Asia and CAREC. The aim is to create a regional system for training specialists, promoting joint research and strengthening academic mobility. The post Central Asia seeks specialists for green energy appeared first on ostwirtschaft.de.