Victron Energy training is a global affair and I often hear of events around the world, but a recent report of one such event in Ngor, Dakar caught my eye. Such positive comments from the participants, not to mention the smiles.
Maybe it had something to do with the apparently trendy Ngor beach area, that could easily be in Saint-Tropez according to the Guardian newspaper. Ngor is a suburb of the city of Dakar in Senegal and is where these first sessions (January 2017) for the West and Central Africa regions were held. Here is a brief report of how these two days of training went.
Smiling Trainers
Trainers Anco van Bergeijk (Victron senior engineer based in West Africa) and Yoann Le Fol (Victron sales engineer for West and Central Africa) carried out the training for 30 participants over the two day event.
Who is it for and where?
Such training events for the regions mentioned are open to engineers and technicians that already have some experience in solar. Training is quite technical but not too complex, and importantly it is free. That in part along with the quality of training is why companies often have to be limited to one participant per company, as demand is high. Indeed the event was fully booked as usual. To give you some idea of demand, last year more than 90 people wanted to join the Mali training event, with only 30 places available!
To ensure Victron’s network of official dealers & distributors in the West and Central Africa regions get a chance to attend an event there are however multiple opportunities. Last year training events were held in Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Benin and Togo. Opportunities for 2017 include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (March), Mali (June), Ghana and Burkina Faso. To be certain of a place, interested parties can keep an eye on Victron Professional for pending updates giving confirmation of dates and event agendas. Forthcoming events are published two months prior to the event, to ensure people have ample time to plan and apply.
Here’s a photo from the Ngor training with one of the lucky, and it seems totally engrossed, participants inspecting a Color Control GX.
Training style & topics
First and foremost, trainer Yoann Le Fol tells me their events are all about a friendly atmosphere where questions and interaction amongst trainers and participants are more than welcomed. That seems appealing in itself, not to mention the fact that any rigid ‘protocol’ styles of learning are avoided, which can only help participants feel comfortable to my mind.
Yoann tells me: “We never come with ‘pre-made solutions’ nor ‘only solutions’ nor ‘a Victron is better than all position, rather we encourage the participants to understand the logic behind a choice. For instance, we ask participants to carry out sizing for a certain end-user load profile. Say five of the participants give us their results, then we ‘d compare them with our own to start a discussion about the choices involving differing sizing methods, the logic behind that and the results.
Field experience, especially from Anco, is also helpful to provide workable solutions and tips arising from specific challenges encountered by installers in Africa. In such instances Anco highlights how Victron solutions can address such challenges”.
At the Ngor training a number of topics were covered including component sizing, configuration and monitoring of solar energy systems with storage.
A Quiz?
To add a little competition and fun there is a quiz at the end of the training, where winners leave with gifts such as a small inverter, a small MPPT and of course the colourful Victron Energy polo shirts and caps.
Training feedback
To ensure Victron Energy deliver training that is appropriate and to garner ideas for future events an evaluation form is completed at the end of each event. Note it’s not just male participants at these training events; don’t forget to apply too ladies.
The results of the evaluation forms allow Yoann and Anco to enhance and plan future events. Also there is a section on the form for straightforward feedback, be it positive or not. It seems positive is the order of the day.
- An excellent training to improve installers skills.
- A very interesting training where I learnt a lot about designing solar systems.
- These 2 days training were really full of information with many practical details.
- The training gave me a better understanding of Victron products. I was always thinking configuration of inverters was too complicated, while it is actually easy with Victron’s.
- Very interesting training, especially to learn how to use Victron products in our installations.
- I learnt about many technical innovations.
Conclusion
As one happy participant said at the end of the training: “Two days is too short – see you next year!”
I guess that says it all. My thanks to Victron Energy trainers Yoann and Anco for the information used in this blog, also Ewien van Bergeijk-Kwant for the excellent photos.
John Rushworth
Tip for French language speakers
If your native language is French and you wish to read this blog in French, then I find the Google Chrome web browser and its inline translation extension tool very useful.
