Professionalization and Reduction of Gender Inequalities in the Ethiopian Electricity Sector

The electricity sector in Ethiopia is growing rapidly due to the government's policy to electrify the entire population by 2030, 96% of which will be connected to the national grid (and 4% through off-grid solutions). This growth policy is mainly implemented by the operator in charge of the production and transport of electricity in the country: Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

The quantitative and qualitative lack of personnel with skills adapted to the needs of the sector and capable of accompanying its technological (new energies, digitalization, etc.) and organizational transformations has been clearly identified by stakeholders as a limiting factor in its development policy. The sector's human resources are mainly young people from the Ethiopian technical and vocational education system, which is very theoretical and does not provide much professional training. It is also a highly male-dominated sector, with women accounting for only 16% of EEP staff. The existence of a training offer adapted to the challenges and inclusive of women has therefore become a necessity for the sector and the country.

The project includes:

• The construction of a new training center in Debre Zeit equipped with the latest technical equipment and adapted to the electrical equipment present on the EEP network. This center will also offer distance learning and will be open to other organizations in the sector.
• Specialized Technical Assistance (TA) that will support EEP in developing tools and procedures to ensure effective management of its human capital, and will build the capacity of the HR staff.

Planned over four years with a €10 million grant from AFD, the project aims to strengthen the efficiency of the electricity sector by improving EEP's performance and services through:

• the sustainable increase in the level of skills of its human resources ;
• the increase in the participation of women within the company.