Training of specialists for scaling up renewable energy to be discussed at RES 2026

The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (hereinafter – CAREC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (hereinafter – OSCE), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (hereinafter – GIZ) will hold a session on training specialists for the development of renewable energy in Central Asia within the framework of the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (hereinafter – RES), which will take place in Astana on 22–24 April. 
The panel session entitled “Capacity Building and Research Cooperation for Advancing Renewable Energy in Central Asia” will be held on 23 April at the Hilton Astana Hotel and will bring together representatives of government bodies, universities, the private sector, and international organizations.
The event will be organized within the framework of the OSCE–CAREC initiative (RTEET), the GIZ regional project “Green Skills for a Green Economy in Central Asia (PROGRESS)”, and the EU–GIZ programme “EU4SustainableCentralAsia: Renewable Energy in Central Asia (EURECA)”.
According to international estimates, the renewable energy sector is growing rapidly: in 2023, it employed 16.2 million people, which is 2.5 million more than the previous year. At the same time, around 44% of jobs are in the solar energy sector. It is expected that by 2030, the share of renewable energy in global power generation will reach 43%.
Against this background, Central Asian countries plan to commission up to 8 GW of new solar and wind energy capacity. However, the pace of sector development already exceeds the capacity of education and training systems, and the shortage of qualified specialists is becoming a key barrier to the development of renewable energy in the region. 
During the session, participants will discuss the most in-demand competencies for the coming years, ways to adapt educational programmes to real market needs, strengthen practical training, and promote joint research and academic mobility. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the private sector in workforce development and innovation.
One of the key expected outcomes will be the signing of memoranda of understanding between technical universities of Central Asia and CAREC. This will create a foundation for the development of a regional system for workforce training, joint research, and sustainable academic cooperation.
“Transition to clean energy is not only about technology and investment. First and foremost, it is about specialists who are able to design, build, and operate the energy systems of the future. We have enormous potential in solar and wind energy, and to ensure that this potential does not remain on paper, our task at this session is to lay the foundation for regional cooperation that will enable companies and universities to speak the same language,” said CAREC Executive Director Batyr Mamedov. 
The event will serve as a platform for developing practical solutions that can be implemented within the next 12–18 months and will contribute to strengthening energy security, creating new jobs, and enhancing the region’s resilience to climate change.