Building a renewable energy workforce that leaves no one behind

Jordan: Powering the green transition with skills (and solar panels!)

What if the biggest barrier to a clean energy future wasn’t technology, but having enough trained people to install it? 

In Jordan, the German Energy Academy is solving exactly that. 

Jordan has set a target of 31% renewable energy by 2030 and is working towards raising that ambition to 50%. But ambition without a skilled workforce is just a target on paper. Since 2021, the German Energy Academy (GEA) in Jordan has trained over 1,200 people across a wide range of green energy courses, including solar photovoltaic design and installation, energy efficiency, e-mobility, and energy storage. To date, 60% of graduates have found employment, internships or freelance work in the green sector. Operating from Al Hussein Technical University and the German Jordanian University, GEA combines German TVET standards with Jordanian labour market needs, delivering up to 70% of its training as hands-on, practical learning. 

“When you see a trainee install their first solar panel and then post about it with so much pride, you know this is not just a course. It is the beginning of a career.” Esraa Hawarat, Project Coordinator, German Energy Academy, Jordan 

The European Training Foundation (ETF) is delighted to count this initiative as one of the finalists for the Green Skills Award 2026. Read on to find out why. 

GEA delivers practice-oriented training that bridges the gap between classroom education and the demands of Jordan’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector. Under the Energy Partnership between the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the GEA is supported by the German government through funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).