First Energy Efficiency Intern achieves Certified Energy Manager Certification

LEDET Energy Efficiency Intern, Vera Maditsi (left), receives her Top Student Award for the highest CEM marks achieved in the student group from Lisa Reynolds, the AEE Chapter, SAEEC’s President, at the Annual AEE Certification Ceremony for Sub-Saharan Africa held at the 2017SAEEC Conference at Emperors Palace, Gauteng in November 2017.

LEDET Energy Efficiency Intern, Vera Maditsi (middle), displaying her CEM certificate with her CEM trainer Louis Lagrange (left) from the Energy Training Foundation, and Mashele Makobela from LEDET the project owners.

Making history for the Limpopo Province, Vera Maditsi, the first LEDET Energy Efficiency Intern to receive full Certified Energy Manager (CEM) status since the program started in 2015. Vera also received the trophy for Top Student, achieving the highest mark of the group in the CEM examination.

The Annual Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Certification Ceremony for the region Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands is held in conjunction with the Southern African Energy Efficiency Conference (SAEEC) every year during November. Candidates who have been trained, passed their examination, and achieved either full Certification or In-Training status during the year are honoured at this ceremony with the certificate hand-over. The students that achieved top marks in their examination also receive top student trophies. The program awards in the region are currently CEM, Certified Energy Auditor (CEA), Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP), Certified Renewable Energy Professional (REP), Carbon Reduction Manager (CRM), Certified Water Efficiency Professional (CWEP), and Certified Business Energy Professional (CBEP).

This year it is the first time that a youth development program success story was made possible by Vera’s achievements. Vera was part of an initiative of the Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) department project to upskill Limpopo Province-based youth to become employable in the energy industry almost 3 years ago. The Energy Training Foundation (EnTF) was contracted to facilitate the services required for training, mentorship and project management.

The aim of the program is to provide tiered training, from the basics in energy up to the advanced training conducted as in the CEM program, with the workplace opportunities providing the necessary work experience to be able to cope with the international AEE CEM examination. CEM is the flagship qualification of the AEE that culminates experience, existing qualifications, and knowledge recognised as prior learning, and the 4-hour examination that has to be passed with 70%, into a certification that is recognised in 105 countries with over 32,000 qualified professionals.

Contact the training manager, Yolanda de Lange, at EnTF [email protected]/0846224770 for more information on this and similar programs towards international recognised qualifications in Southern Africa: www.energytrainingfoundation.co.za

Released by: The MEDIA office of The Energy Training Foundation | [email protected]•084 622 4770