The event built on insights from the inaugural SkillUp Forum held in 2025, where participants highlighted significant skills gaps affecting workforce readiness and productivity. Follow-up assessments identified four key areas requiring urgent attention: soft skills, business competencies, renewable energy and energy efficiency skills, and digital technologies.
The rapid evolution of Ghana’s energy landscape is creating new opportunities across renewable energy, energy efficiency, and digital applications. However, industry stakeholders continue to face challenges in finding workers equipped with the practical competencies needed to thrive in modern workplaces.
While technical knowledge remains important, SkillUp 2026 highlighted a growing demand for workers who can combine technical expertise with digital literacy, problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and effective workplace communication.
The forum was intentionally designed to move beyond discussion and generate actionable insights. Through expert presentations, a panel discussion, and an interactive feedback process, participants explored both current workforce challenges and opportunities for strengthening skills development systems.
Presentations from representatives of academia, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, and industry reinforced a common message: technical skills alone are no longer sufficient in today's energy sector.
Speakers including Ing. Emmanuel Ashie of the Applied Technology Institute, Ing. Abdul Mumin Musah Bingle of Trust Hospital Company Limited, Dr. Jojo Lartey of Heritage University, and Mr. Tanko Yakubu of Dredge Masters emphasized the need for a more holistic skills profile that combines technical competencies with workplace readiness.
Across the presentations, participants underscored the importance of competency-based training, practical learning experiences, stronger integration of digital tools, and the development of essential soft skills such as teamwork, communication, professionalism, and critical thinking.
Industry representatives also highlighted operational challenges they frequently encounter, including limited hands-on experience among new entrants, insufficient familiarity with digital monitoring systems, and weak maintenance practices. These gaps, they noted, affect productivity and underscore the need for training programmes that better reflect real workplace environments.
A panel discussion moderated by Maxwell Beganim explored how gaps in technical, digital, business, and soft skills are impacting workforce performance across the sector.
One of the strongest messages emerging from the discussion was the need for closer collaboration between industry and training institutions. Participants agreed that workforce development efforts must be increasingly demand-driven, ensuring that training programmes align with evolving industry needs and technological advancements.
The discussion also highlighted the value of flexible learning approaches that enable working professionals to upskill without disrupting their employment.
A notable example of this approach is AyaSol Grow, an initiative implemented through a partnership between Swisscontact and the Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals Association of Ghana (CEWPAG).
The intervention emerged directly from discussions and recommendations generated during the first SkillUp Forum. Through subsidized weekend training delivered at Don Bosco Solar Institute, AyaSol Grow supports electricians in expanding their expertise into the solar energy sector. Participants also receive tools and safety equipment that enable them to apply their newly acquired skills immediately.
The initiative demonstrates how stakeholder dialogue can be translated into practical interventions that respond directly to industry demand while creating new opportunities for professionals seeking to enter the renewable energy market.
To ensure the forum generates tangible outcomes beyond the event itself, participants completed a structured feedback and training needs assessment.
The findings revealed a strong demand for both technical and non-technical skills across the energy sector.
Among technical priorities, participants expressed significant interest in advanced solar photovoltaic (PV) installation and smart inverter systems, ESG and sustainability reporting, industrial energy efficiency, and energy auditing.
Digital competencies also emerged as a critical area, with all respondents identifying digital skills for energy systems as a priority. This reflects the growing role of technology, automation, and data-driven operations across the sector.
Business-related competencies were equally important, with project management and digital tools for energy business operations ranking among the most requested areas for upskilling.
At the same time, respondents unanimously highlighted workplace communication and team collaboration as essential skills for success, reinforcing the growing importance of behavioural competencies in technical professions.
Training providers echoed these findings, emphasizing the need to expand learning opportunities beyond traditional technical content to include soft skills, emotional readiness, innovation, and technology-focused competencies.
The outcomes of SkillUp 2026 reveal a clear shift in workforce expectations within Ghana’s sustainable energy sector. Employers are increasingly seeking professionals who can combine technical expertise with digital capability, adaptability, business understanding, and strong interpersonal skills.
For Swisscontact, the forum represents more than a one-day event. It forms part of a broader effort to strengthen connections between industry demand and workforce development, ensuring that training opportunities remain relevant, accessible, and responsive to emerging trends.
Through initiatives such as AyaSol Grow and the introduction of structured feedback and matchmaking mechanisms, SkillUp is helping to create a more collaborative skills ecosystem—one where training providers, employers, and professionals can work together to address workforce challenges and unlock new opportunities.
As Ghana’s sustainable energy sector continues to grow, platforms such as SkillUp will play an increasingly important role in shaping a workforce that is equipped not only for today’s jobs, but for the opportunities of tomorrow.