Renewable Energy Technician Education: Lessons from the German Energiewende

The renewable energy sector poses a moving target for technical educators, especially those charged with workforce preparation at the nation’s two-year colleges. To better answer these questions, a team of renewable energy educators looked to other nations to learn how they had met similar challenges. This paper – and subsequent panel discussion presents the team’s findings concerning the German response to renewable energy workforce education challenges. Results include key takeaways, notably the importance of energy policy on training efficiencies and effectiveness, the necessity and nature of cultural shift, trends towards reducing specialized degree and instead making use of “legacy” educational pathways, and models for integrating industry involvement. The compiled participant data also provides overarching observations, and educator insights into the similarities and differences in – and influences on – renewable energy technician training in Germany and the U.S.