To support the Government of Colombia’s plans to transform its power sector, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has assembled a cross-organizational team to develop and deliver a comprehensive workforce training program for young energy sector leaders in Colombia designed to enhance the efficient integration of growing volumes of variable renewable energy (VRE) to the energy sector. The team developed a series of seven capacity building modules designed to ready Colombia’s energy sector workforce to participate in the construction, operation, and grid integration of VRE projects, such as wind and solar.

Nearly 60 early career professionals from over 20 organizations within the Colombian energy sector completed the young leaders workforce training program, which was implemented between May 2020 and May 2021 and included nearly 70 hours of pre-recorded and live training content. Participants also conducted applied research through the development of strategic action plans for their organizations, which leveraged the training content and focused on specific activities or initiatives that training participants could carry forward as next steps beyond the initial training program.