Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/201234

No fixed standardsWith the PV growth rapidly increasing in Italy, the “solar installers” have

been emerging as a new group of professionals. But a unified standard for

the training and qualification of solar installers is still not in sight.

“We took a glance across the border of South Tyrol and adopted a dual training system that we have been offering since 1957. In 2001, we also launched a certified Master Craftsman train-ing for solar installers”, says Edwin Daniel, the initiator of the training courses in Meran.

Photos (2): Vocational training

institute Luis Zuegg, Meran

34

Edwin Daniel, an instructor at the vocational

training institute “Luis Zuegg” in Meran, South

Tyrol, knows what’s missing: “A unified stan-

dard for the training of solar installers does not exist

in Italy.” Italy also lacks a dual training system to

combine the classroom theory with the practical ex-

periences gained on the job. “When students finish

school at the age of 15, they usually begin to work at

a company and are then considered craftsmen after

three years.” There is a problem with this: “Many of

them are given a small handbook with some theory

on the first day, but most of it is learning by doing.”

The consequences have been felt in the Italian PV

sector over the last few years. Every craftsman who

thought he had enough training to install a PV system

did. This led to a whole series of constructional de-

fects and complaints, which damaged the reputation

of the installers. Meanwhile, the consumers are quite

aware that solar installers require adequate training

and expertise. They expect, after all, that their PV sys-

tem will work trouble-free for at least 20 years. The

demand for qualified solar installers therefore exists

in Italy. Many market participants have recognized

the need and come up with a range of concepts aimed

at improving the training of the installers.

Trained by the product makers

Most manufacturers bind installer training directly

into their company routines. They need qualified staff

and have the best knowledge of their own products.

They also benefit from the contact to the installers by

gaining direct access to the market. On the other

hand, the installers prefer to use products they are fa-

miliar with and are kept up to date about new tech-

nologies. Meanwhile, the training is no longer offered

exclusively by the domestic manufacturers but also

by a number of foreign companies in Italian language:

“It’s difficult to find experts on such a fast-growing

market as Italy, which has only just emerged”, says

Sven Höpfner, Sales Manager for the Italian market at

the Germany-based company Schletter GmbH. “Five

or six years ago, it was almost impossible to find any-

one who had experience with the installation of PV

Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/201236

systems in Italy. Without participation in profession-

al trainings, the installers are very likely to make mis-

takes.” Schletter has been inviting solar installers to

participate in its training courses in Ripatransone in

the Province of Ascoli for six years now. They usually

run for several days: “Our basic training includes an

introduction to mounting systems for different types

of rooftops, carports and ground-mounted PV

systems.” Renusol, a manufacturer of mounting

solutions for PV systems, is following a similar

strategy. We offer far more than just product trainings,

says Stefan Ast, Marketing and Public Relations.

Renusol provides its customers with assistance for

the installation right from the start: “This way our

distributors gain practical experience directly on the

roof”, says Ast.

Other manufacturers that cannot offer in-house

training courses usually collaborate with wholesalers

and project developers to make the solar installers fa-

miliar with their products. One of them is the Italy-

based wholesaler Enerpoint. The company offers

training for solar newcomers as well as for profes-

sionals. More than 2,500 participants have already

been trained in Enerpoint’s “solar school” over the

past eleven years, says the company. Similar to other

training courses offered on the market, Enerpoint

usually begins with a presentation of the company

and an introduction to the technology form. In a next

step, the participants are made familiar with the com-

ponent parts, the different options for mounting sys-

tems, trouble shooting and the design of PV plants.

Besides this, the training addresses also aspects of

the grid connection, the maintenance as well as the

control and monitoring of PV plants. It is rounded off

with a discussion of ways to co-operate.

Professionalizing vocational education

Because of the high time pressure involved with their

jobs, the solar installers are often only able to partic-

ipate in one of the trainings organized by the manu-

facturers, which normally take no more than two or

a maximum of three days. These types of “crash

courses” seldom arrive at a lot of depth. “If we want

to raise the level of professionalism in the area of so-

lar technologies in Italy, we will have to cross the bor-

ders between individual disciplines and professions

and establish unified standards”, says Edwin Daniel.

He is not alone with this opinion. Vocational educa-

tion centres throughout Italy have been trying to fill

the gap with longer in-depth training. One of the

pioneers in this respect is the vocational training

institute Luis Zuegg in the Meran province.

Luis Zuegg is the first and only institute to offer a

certified Master Craftsman training for solar installers

in Italy with a course load of 730 full hours. “We took

a glance across the border of South Tyrol and adopt-

ed a dual training system that we have been offering

since 1957. A two-year in-service training for solar in-

stallers was added in the year 2000”, explains Daniel,

the initiator of the courses. The training in Meran ad-

dresses not only aspects of “PV and heat pump tech-

nology up to solar cooling and fuel cell technology”

but also related topics such as building physics, elec-

tronics and refrigeration techniques. The students

are also given some competence in psychology and

communication, which can be of advantage in cus-

tomer counselling, for example. Other classes teach

time and business management to provide the stu-

dents with additional entrepreneurial know-how.

Another example is the professional centre

Eurosatellite, which has been offering training for in-

stallers and technicians since 1989. Similar to other

vocational institutes in Italy, the training courses

were expanded to include PV technologies rather late

in the last year. “In our weekly intensive PV and mon-

itoring systems courses, the participants at first learn

all the theory required for solar energy technologies.

Then they are introduced to aspects of the practical

work in our fully-equipped laboratories”, says Sofia

Borchiellini, Communication Officer for Eurosatellite.

Various types of PV systems, including inverters and

a solar tracker, have been installed on the institute’s

roof to give the students an idea of how the technol-

ogy works. “Later, the participants are guided

through the bureaucracy required for the presenta-

tion of projects and learn how to use special design

software. Finally, the installers and technicians are

prepared to meet any market requests from domestic

PV systems up to production power plants”,

Borchiellini continues.

Meanwhile, the number of vocational centres of-

fering training classes for solar installers has been in-

creasing in Italy. What is still missing is a unified

The training in Meran ad-dresses not only aspects of “PV and heat pump technology up to solar cooling and fuel cell tech-nology” but also related topics such as building physics, electronics and refrigeration techniques.

standard for course materials, examinations and de-

grees. The fact that such a standard does not exist

can be seen as a reason for the confusing range of

classroom and online seminars currently on offer and

the different prices charged.

University to replace vocational training

A new approach has now been taken in Milan. As an

alternative to the training in vocational institutes, the

university Politecnico di Milano has launched a new

Master Degree in the area of PV, which has been of-

fered to students since March 2012. The programme

was initiated as a joint venture between the universi-

ty and the industry association ANIE-GIFI. The full-

year course of study, says the university, aims at giv-

ing solar installers professional training and exper-

tise to become engineers with 360° training. The

courses teach not only theoretical know-how but also

the practical skills needed to design and install PV

plants in line with customer expectations. Other as-

pects of the degree, which is offered at a total of

€ 6,000, are safety at work, maintenance and the

monitoring and operation of PV plants. Students will

also have an opportunity to establish contacts to pub-

lic and financial institutions and learn about building

integration or financial economics.

EU Directive in sight

In the future, a binding and nationwide standard for

the training of solar installers can also be expected

from ENEA (Italy’s national agency for new technol-

ogies, energy and sustainable economic develop-

ment), as, by December 31st 2012, the EU Directive

2009/28/EG requires all EU members to establish a

unified certification and qualification scheme for in-

stallers in the area of renewable energy. Until such

a regulation is in place in Italy, however, the install-

ers will have to choose between the different pro-

grammes on offer. Leitner Solar, a company based in

South Tyrol that designs and installs PV plants with

a capacity of between 1 kW and 3 MW, relies on sev-

eral methods to keep its staff up to date: “Besides

the specific product training offered by the manufac-

turers, we also invite industry experts who have sev-

eral years of experience in the area of solar

technology”, says Andreas Leitner, Vice President

of Leitner Solar AG. “In addition, we train our

technology and development staff in external

seminars and pass new knowledge on within the

company.” In a nutshell: Leitner Solar AG is ambi-

tious to attract as much expertise to the company as

possible. Not a bad idea, if one takes into account

that the quality of the broad range of trainings on

offer is not always clear.

Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/2012

Sun right from the source SunEye® 210), and offers PV services for manufac-

turers of inverters and PV modules and operators of

PV plants.

For large PV installations, soleg acts as interna-

tional project developer, main contractor (EPC) and

supplier to main contractors (EP). The headquarters’

proximity to the University of Applied Sciences at

Technologiecampus in Teisnach enables close coop-

erations in the area of research and development.

It is also an expression of the future-oriented

and innovative corporate structure. soleg was

founded in 1994 and currently

has 70 employees at its head-

quarters in Teisnach (Germa-

ny), Pilsen (Czech Republic),

Arezzo und Verona (Italy),

Ljubljana (Slovenia), Austria,

Greece and the UK.

>„Energy from the sun“ – a clear goal stands be-

hind this phrase for soleg: the international

company with roots in Germany wants to make

a decisive contribution to a total conversion of the en-

ergy supply to renewable resources. Since 1994 so-

leg has been planning and selling plants for the us-

age of solar energy. Originating from an initiative for

the collective buying of solar plants, soleg has devel-

oped into a competent and reliable partner for

systems,

soleg group AG is an inter-

national distributor for photo-

voltaics, solar heating, wood

fi red heating and Sonnenhaus

technology. The company also

sells professional PV equip-

ment for installers and planners

of PV installations (like the

Advertorial

soleg s.r.l.

Via Ca’ Nova Zampieri, 4e37057 San Giovanni Lupatoto (VR)ItalyPhone: +39/045/8750870Fax: +39/045/8751009Email: info@soleg-italia.itwww.soleg-italia.it

Since 1994 soleg is working on a clear goal: the company wants to make a decisive con-tribution to a total conversion of our energy supply to renew-able energies. Photos: soleg