Geothermal energy production calls upon a very wide range of skills and specialisms, from subsoil exploration to identify geothermal resources, to the operation and maintenance of industrial facilities at the surface. It also takes specific competencies to carry out the environmental studies, communicate on the projects and, more generally, set up the projects along with funding. The same applies to the regulatory aspects.
The Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy must be capable of meeting these needs, by offering resources as well as training for various levels, durations and audiences, and by facilitating its implementation.
Through training courses, the goal is to develop and network skills at Caribbean level in order to give real momentum to the region’s geothermal sector, to promote the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy on a worldwide scale, and to partially contribute to its functioning.
The tasks of studying the feasibility and implementation conditions of the training offered by the Caribbean Centre of Excellence and designing the training content have been entrusted by ADEME to a group of consultants within the framework of the INTERREG 5 “ETC” project.
The study aims to determine the types of training and topics that best meet the needs of the sector’s players (industrial, institutional, academic and so on). Hence, it will form a basis for the setting up of comprehensive training programmes (long, short and technical courses) as well as procedures for their implementation and advertising.
The study analyses key points that will help us to:
- Understand the needs in geothermal training;
- Identify competition and opportunities for collaboration;
- Define best practices and shortfalls in the market for geothermal training;
- Propose the development of training courses that are suitably positioned and calibrated in order to guarantee viability and durability.
Training requirements (type, volume, format, qualification level, etc.) will be defined from a prospective viewpoint. Indeed, these needs may fluctuate with geothermal project cycles, for example, or as new technologies are introduced.
The competitive analysis of existing training courses will help in the definition of training programmes in line with the needs of the regions and businesses concerned. The idea is to be capable of offering training that enhances and complements that which already exists in reputed training centres.
Ultimately, the study will help determine the opportuneness of offering academic and lifelong training within the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy, and the role of the latter in terms of the engineering of training programmes. The work will include the building of a business model that ensures long-term availability of the training (i.e. funding and building of training programmes / sourcing capacity and standing, etc.).
- Three levels of geographical analysis will be included in the study (Caribbean, Central America, and Whole World) to take into account the global nature of the market for geothermal training.
- In terms of topics, the study will pay special attention to geothermal training, with a focus on geothermics in a volcanic environment.
The study is planned in 2 phases:
Phase 1. Characterisation of the potential market for the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy
- Training needs and expectations will be expressed via qualitative interviews and an online survey.
- Analysis of existing training by the establishment of benchmarks,
- Proposal of positioning scenarios for the training programmes offered by the Centre of Excellence.
Phase 2. Development of training programmes and an action plan.
- The final report will contain a detailed description of the training courses to be proposed and the technico-strategic conditions of their implementation (funding, timetable, marketing, partnerships, etc.).