Aggreko Expands Technical Training Programme in West Africa

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, October 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Aggreko, the world leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control services, has announced that its highly successful 'Aggreko University' technical training programme has been expanded beyond Ivory Coast to now draw students from across seven Central and West African countries. The programme is widely regarded by students, academia and industry as the leading private sector training-to-employment scheme in the West African utility sector.    

Fourteen students from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Ivory Coast had been selected to progress into the programme's Summer Module. They were chosen from more than 400 applicants following a series of assessment centres carried out across the seven countries throughout May and June. The group assembled in Yamoussoukro in July for a four-week intensive classroom based programme in which they covered advanced technical, engineering and project operations modules. They were also introduced to the Aggreko business and the fundamental aspects of operating and working within an Aggreko facility.

The students were officially recognised at a formal celebration held in Abidjan on Friday 17th October in the presence of top academia from local universities, representatives from the local energy sector and senior management from both Aggreko and CI-Energies, the state utility of Ivory Coast. Upon completion of the programme, graduates will be eligible for fast-track employment opportunities within Aggreko in technical and project operations positions across Aggreko's network of international power projects.

"Aggreko takes its commitment to Africa very seriously. By identifying high-potential local talent and fast-tracking them through the Aggreko University programme we are able to provide opportunities and future prospects for the students and ensure we have a source of highly competent future leaders for our projects business. It is also an essential element in developing a strong local workforce and giving back to the communities in which we operate," commented Yan Pardailhe-Galabrun, Director of Human Resources, Aggreko Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"The Aggreko University continues to be a great initiative that is helping to build a solid base of well trained and experienced electrical and mechanical technicians across West Africa," commented Tanoe Bile Operations Director, CI-Energies. "We are proud to be a key partner with Aggreko in the delivery of the programme and offer our full support to ensure its ongoing success, both for the students themselves and for the development of the West African energy sector."

"As one of West Africa's leading engineering schools we take great pride in supporting the education and employment of talented, young Ivoirians, along with our young brothers and sisters from neighbouring countries," commented Dr Yao K. Alphonse, Director of Mines and Geological Engineering School, Institut National Polytechnique - Houpouét Boigny. "The Aggreko programme is a fantastic initiative that is adding real value by giving experience and employment to the future leaders of the West African utility sector."  

"This programme will see Aggreko, CI-Energies and INP-HB working together to develop West Africa's next generation of energy industry professionals," added Serge Mevo, General Manager, Aggreko West Africa. "This close cooperation and mutual desire to add value to the wider region is testament Ivory Coast's support in developing the regional utility sector."  

With more than 1.3 GW currently installed across 25 African countries, Aggreko is the largest supplier of fast-track temporary power to the continent. Aggreko first entered the African market in 1995 and since then has established a presence across the continent with service centres located in Lagos, Luanda, Dar es Salam, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban and Walvis Bay, supported by regional hubs in Dubai and Paris. Across its African operations Aggreko employs in excess of 700 people with more than 90% of this workforce being African nationals.

Editor's Notes  

Aggreko plc is the world leader in the supply of temporary power and temperature control solutions. Aggreko employs over 6,000 people operating from 202 locations. In 2013 we served customers in about 100 countries, and had revenues of approximately GBP 1.6bn (USD 2.5bn or Euros 1.9bn). Aggreko plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AGK.L), is a member of the FTSE-100 index, and is headquartered in Scotland. For more information, please visit the company website at http://www.aggreko.com

Aggreko provides power and temperature control solutions to customers who need them either very quickly, or for a short or indeterminate length of time. Examples would be the supply of power to an industrial site which needs to service its permanent power supply, supplying a whole city in times of power shortage, or providing a major sporting event with power and cooling systems. We serve our customers either through our 202 service centres, which we call the Local business, or globally through our Power Projects business.

In the Local business, which accounts for about half of our revenues, we hire our equipment to customers, who then operate it for themselves, although we retain responsibility for servicing and maintaining it. In the Power Projects business, which also accounts for about half of our revenues, we operate as a power producer. We install and operate power plants and we charge our customers both for providing the generating capacity, and for the electricity we produce. We design and manufacture equipment specifically for these requirements in our factory in Dumbarton, Scotland.

Recent customers include the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Ryder Cup and Cirque du Soleil and the power utilities in over 50 countries including the UK, France, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and the USA.

In 2013 we fulfilled almost 48,000 customers' assignments and 72% of those who responded to our research gave us a recommendation of 9 or 10 out of 10.

For more information, please visit our local website at: africa.aggreko.com