The Moroccan government has just authorised the Moroccan Sustainable Energy Agency (Masen) to take a 20% stake in Ifmeree, the company responsible for managing training institutes for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The objective is to improve the quality of the Moroccan workforce to ensure the effective implementation of the National Renewable Energy Programme, led by Masen.
On the 14th of September 2018, the Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Mohamed Benchaâboun, signed the document allowing Masen, the public company in charge of piloting the national renewable energy programme, to integrate up to 20% of the capital of Ifmeree, the company responsible for managing training institutes for renewable energy and energy efficiency professions.
Ifmeree was created in 2011 by the Moroccan government to meet the specific vocational training needs of the green energy sector. The company manages three institutes: Ifmeree in Tangier in the North West (operational at the beginning of the 2018 academic year), Ifmeree in Ouarzazate in the south (scheduled to open in 2019) and Ifmeree in Oujda in the north east (in service since November 2015). This institute (Ifmeree) offers a specialised diploma (BTS) in five fields: solar thermal systems, solar photovoltaic systems, wind energy efficiency systems in buildings and biogas. Two badges have already been trained. Ultimately, the three institutes will train 1000 people per year.
The cost of setting up these institutes is €26 million. Most of the investment was financed by a contribution from the European Union (€10 million in the form of a grant) and the French Development Agency (€10 million in the form of a loan). The rest (€6 million) is provided by the State budget. In addition, support is provided by the German Cooperation Agency GIZ, which has mobilised €2 million in the form of equipment and training of teachers. The shares that Masen will acquire will therefore cost her 5.2 million euros.
In addition to generating electricity through large-scale projects and mobilising the necessary financing, Masen seeks to catalyse the development of a competitive economic system that efficiently mobilises existing skills and helps to create new ones. Masen’s integrated project development programs aim to develop an additional 3,000 MW of clean electricity production capacity by 2020 and 6,000 MW by 2030. All this with the aim of contributing to the national objective, by 2030, of an energy mix of which 52% is of renewable origin.
Boris Ngounou
