The free, interactive online training course, Spark Your Interest in Electricity, has, since its launch more than a year ago, seen about 1 700 students from English-speaking Africa enrolling for the programme and completing one or more sub courses. To date, most of the enrolments have been from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.
The Spark Your Interest in Electricity course, which was designed and launched by a partnership between Schneider Electric and multimedia giant Trace, is available on the Trace Academia app from both the Google Play (Android) and Apple iStore (iOS) platforms.
“Schneider Electric is leading the way in providing training for the youth. With the world becoming increasingly digital and virtual, we’ve ensured that our training approach keeps up with these evolving trends,” says Zanélle Dalglish, Global Leader: Training & Education Affairs. Dalglish was instrumental in establishing the course with Trace Academia.
“Spark Your Interest in Electricity provides an introduction to electricity for those young people who are described as NEET (not in employment, education or training) as well as anyone who is interested to understand the basics of electricity. The course was designed and developed by a team of experts from South Africa and the curriculum is carefully designed to include the important modules required to ‘spark your Interest in electricity’,” says Dalglish.
The course has been developed in line with Trace Academia’s criteria for course certification, which includes a rigorous approval process, and aims to provide ‘virtual hands-on’ training in the field of electricity.
It also serves as a precursor to encourages youth to take the next step; enrolling in an electricians’ or related course provided at a tertiary or vocational institution.
To obtain a Spark Your Interest in Electricity certification, which serves as an introduction to electricity, students must complete the entire course syllabus which includes eight modules.
- Discover the magic of electricity
- Electrical sockets and light fittings
- Connecting wires
- Principles of electricity
- Discover circuit breakers
- Understand series and parallel circuits
- What are electrical hazards
- What Is an earth leakage device
“Our aim with the course material is to spark students’ interest, laying the groundwork for future studies in the electrical trade. Module 1 of the course delves into the magic of electricity, including its formation, movement, and storage, and another module, for example, provides insight into understanding series and parallel circuits, which is fundamental to any electrical work,” says Avin Ramjeeth, Projects & Offer Manager at the Schneider Electric Academy.
Carina van Zyl, Corporate Citizenship Leader for Anglophone Africa, Strategy and Sustainability comments: “The Schneider Electric Spark your Interest in Electricity course is one of many education and training initiatives that are central to the company’s commitment to Youth Impact though Learning.” These include:
- Partnerships with the Schneider Electric Foundation and tertiary and vocational training organisations to form part of the French Southern African Schneider Electric Education Centre (F’SASEC) network, focused on enhancing energy technical training; and
- The New Skills of the Future and Innovation programme of the Schneider Electric Foundation aimed at skilling and empowering youth to play a role in the energy transition by leveraging the company's resources and providing financial and technical support, with a view to the 139 million new jobs expected to be created in the energy transition by 2030.
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