The 2015 African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition will see the start of a three-day specialised course, the Power & Utilities Management School, for power and utility personnel at all levels of management who want to develop a broad knowledge of the power sector, focusing on reducing risk, mitigating challenges and maximising opportunities.

Power & Utilities Management School lead facilitator Daniel Swanepoel says the initiative aims to eradicate the skills gap that exists in terms of power management. He explains that the school will run at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, alongside the conference and exhibition, from May 12 to 14.

Swanepoel adds that ensuring success and sustainability in the power sector demands strategic planning capabilities, as well as a paradigm shift, which will demand a different skills set from South Africans.

“We need to empower ourselves and others to build a better future. We need our tertiary education institutions to focus more on technical skills development, with specific focus on the power and utility sectors. This is our future. And this is a reality for the entire sub- Saharan Africa,” he elaborates.

He states that, currently, the utility sector is generally linked to government, which often leads to political appointments being made, while stragetic and necessary skills sets are overlooked.

Swanepoel adds that, as the developed world has already learned, the utility sector needs to enable public–private partnerships to be successful.

He says the course will look at compiling and presenting power- and utility-focused business plans and documentation for finance. “The course offers a strategic focus and companies often fail to achieve success in this space.”

Swanepoel, who boasts a background in corporate banking and consults on power projects, is a specialist on leadership and man- agement development training in the energy sector on the African continent.

“We have worked hard to put together a programme that will speak to both junior and middle- management delegates, as our objective is to present the basic framework that enables an understanding of how a power management project is put together.

“At the same time, we want to provide our delegates with a complete overview of the sector and give them an opportunity to discuss with others. In short, we would like the power management school to be a brainstorming session where we look at strategy planning, government liaising, project planning and project management. “We want to conclude with successful financial management of projects,” he says.

Swanepoel adds that the course enables participants to attend keynote sessions, explore the exhibi- tion floor, as well as meet and network extensively with the many delegates and speakers at the African Utility Week, while gaining in-depth, practical knowledge and familiarity with implementation strategies.

About the Power & Utilities Management School
The Power & Utilities Management School is being facilitated by the recently launched Spintelligent Training Academy, which is part of event organiser Spintelligent. The academy was established to address learning and development needs in the energy, utilities and mining industries on the African continent.

Spintelligent Training Academy’s other courses include Smart Meter Economics, which last took place in Accra, Ghana, from April 9 to 11; Electricity Market Pricing and Trading, which took place in Cape Town on April 13 and 14; Public–Private Partnerships: Understanding the Regulatory Framework, which took place in Cape Town on April 20 and 21; Economics of Public–Private Partnerships, which took place in Cape Town from April 22 to 24; Contracting for Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contracts and Services in the Energy Industry, which took place in Lagos, Nigeria, from April 27 to 29, and Grid Shock Preparedness and Blackout Management, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 18 and 19.
Spintelligent has flagship projects in the power, mining, agriculture, defence and education sectors, including African Utility Week, the West African Power Industry Convention, African EduWeek, Agritech-Expo, Land Forces Africa and the Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development mining event franchise.