First generation of graduates of the "Future Electrician" program

The vocational education in dual system is growing in Romania, with approximately 16,000 students (according to TVR) who benefited from these public-private partnerships to train in practical trades. Local electricity distribution companies of the Enel group were among the founders of dual education classes: we started in 2018 with the first class in the Technical College of Power Engineering in Bucharest, a class that graduated this year. Our program is called "Future Electrician" and it is aimed at exactly this: to train electricians, hoping that some of them will join our more experienced colleagues and reduce the talent gap in energy craftsmen.

Imagine that, for a company operating in electricity distribution, it is quite difficult to recruit electricians. To work near electricity, one needs intensive and specialized training, particularly since every electricity distributor has different installations. Therefore we can only think strategically when choosing to invest in the dual education system, that is in collaborating with technical schools in those areas of the country where we manage the electricity network, cultivating the taste of young people for practical trades. The pandemic itself was an occasion for the society as a whole to recognize the merits of these key people in the national energy system, whom it has learned to call "essential workers". Electricians with digital skills are an essential part of the energy transition, which doesn't only rely on renewables and decarbonization, but also on the resilience of electricity networks, which are expanding more and more.

Our "Future Electrician" program contributes to Education, as a sustainable development goal.

Globally, Enel is committed to contributing to certain UN goals for sustainable development, in particular to goals in the areas where it can have the greatest impact. They are of course related to access to energy, digitalization, collaboration, sustainable cities, equality, but also quality education (SDG 4). As Enel pursues in its mission the creation of shared value, i.e. a better life for our communities, supporting education naturally suits us.

Expansion of the "Future Electrician" program

After the Bucharest class, we implemented the program in the "Dragomir Hurmuzescu" Energy Technological High School in Deva in 2019, and in 2021 we make substantial additions to the program: three new dual classes, each having between 24 and 28 places. These include a new class in Bucharest, plus two classes with new partners - Constanta Energy High School and the Technological High School in Fierbinți Târg. These classes already had their first round of admissions in early summer, and for the remaining places, a second admission session will be organized in August.

Teachers in these partner high-schools generally provided positive feedback, and we seem to have made a good name for ourselves as a partner investing in vocational training: if in the past we were the ones looking for high-schools to open dual education classes, now the high-schools are looking for us! We are honored and happy to see this open mindedness.

What are the benefits that students get in the 3 years of dual education?

At the end of the eighth grade, juniors may not know what they want to do in life. Before, however, imagining how it would be like to be authorized to operate the installations distributing the energy that supports life, but is also dangerous, i.e. electricity, the children's families enjoy actual benefits. We pay a RON 200 scholarship in addition to the RON 200 each student gets if enrolled in vocational schools, we cover occupational medicine costs, working and protection equipment, lunch every day, transport and accommodation for students from neighboring localities. What matters most, however, in training young people, is the mentorship provided by specialists in our companies (electricians, engineers), study visits in our stations for apprenticeship and personal development activities.

For E-Distribuție companies, it is important that the experience of students in all dual education classes is similar, wherever the high school may be located. Benefits are the same, and our colleagues who become mentors for the students are trained for this role - they encourage their questions and explain things in simple words, according to their level of completion of the school curriculum. As to soft skills, we work with local NGOs for personal development workshops. In these workshops, students learn to communicate better and work in teams, and they are guided by psychology, coaching, and personal development experts.

Testimonials from first generation graduates

During the 3 years, we interacted with those almost 30 students and we repeatedly asked them how they got used to the dual education system - also read the 2019 article on the dual education class in Bucharest.

Already at the end of their first year, we got very diverse feedback: "I managed to make friends that are very OK", "I liked the personal development classes since we talked very openly", "We work in teams a lot at school and I guess this will help me in the future", "I loved laboratory practice, where we learned to design circuits. I found it hard in the beginning, but then it became easier, I really like physics". "In the laboratory, I am good at assemblies. I can see myself working as an electrician", "My father guided me to choose the dual education class, he is a mechanic and he told me that it is very good to have a basic trade. I like apprenticeship, I am good at circuits."

Isn't it great to gain the confidence that you are good at the things you learn and practice? It appears that this confidence has grown a lot, or at least this is what we saw from here, from the sustainability department.

What are the skills that an electrician of the future needs?

The profile of the modern electrician is modeled both by the energy transition, which involves electricity networks whose resilience relies on digitalization and by the diversity need, which opens up endless equal opportunities for professional development.

First of all, we need to say that electricians are no longer just men, they can be women as well since the trade has changed and the physical force required to handle tools has become less important. In the era of digitalized networks, in which Enel is a pioneer, many maneuvers are carried out from a distance, using remote controls, and digital skills are becoming more important. In addition, the capacity to understand ethics and safety are essential in our companies.

Apart from the remodeling of the electrician profile, the basis continues to be practical training, using the advanced technologies we use in E-Distribuție on a daily basis. Every year, during their school years, students spend more hours on field. It is their chance to see real-life installations (which are not live, of course!), to ask questions to their mentors, and see them carry out various operations - therefore learn by observing and translating theory learned in the classroom into real-life situations.

Electrician on his first job: what is the first step in the career of a young graduate of a dual education class?

After graduating from the dual-class, students will need to decide whether they want to further their studies for 2 more years and then pass the baccalaureate exam or they already want to work as electricians. They can choose to do both.

Of course, as employees, they will have as much access to the network as their experience! There is a prejudice that young people tend to be more hurried and have riskier behaviors, but they will learn safety rules every day and, in addition, will have a level of authorization adapted to their development stage. The maximum authorization level is "admittant", and our young graduates will reach this level after many years, during which they will be supervised by one or several of our colleagues. For this level, an electrician needs to prove he is capable to work independently on electrical installations. Next step? The ANRE exam. Therefore, there is a long way to go from the internship stage, but the path is clear for whomever has committed to walk it.

As one of our recent graduates was saying during a TVR interview, things are clear: "I finish my apprenticeship weeks, I continue my studies, I pass my baccalaureate and... I excel in the field!". Watch the entire story here:

Do you know a junior who can become our apprentice?

Tell him that we are waiting for him to enroll in August in the dual-class at the Energy High School in Constanța, the only one supported by E-Distribuţie where there are still places available. See details on the page dedicated to the "Future Electrician" program.