Schneider Electric presents Tomorrow Rising, a docuseries on how vocational training can change lives around the world

End of October, Schneider Electric launched Tomorrow Rising, a docuseries on four trainees building tomorrow’s energy world each in their own way, on its Access to Energy program Facebook account.

Tomorrow Rising: The energy of today and tomorrow

Tomorrow Rising tells the story of four trainees, Gurdeep, Pierre, Vitor and Yéyé, from four different countries but linked by the Schneider Electric Access to Energy Training & Entrepreneurship program. They represent the energy of today and tomorrow.

Tomorrow Rising counts five episodes, which intertwines the lives of these four young people:

• Yéyé is our narrator and her ambition is to become a respected engineer.  We follow her from the beginning of her training in Lagos, Nigeria, to her diploma.  She narrates the stories of her classmates from around the world.
• Pierre, in Senegal, has been trained to be a teacher and is now fighting to improve the future of youth in his country.
• For Vitor, in Brazil, Schneider’s training has been a genuine lifeline helping him build a career in electricity.
• Lastly, in India, we meet Gurdeep, an ambitious young entrepreneur who installs solar panels and employs young people, like him, benefited from Schneider Electric training.

A virtual-reality version of the docuseries is also available to offer a full immersion into the daily lives of our students and to feel the impact of these trainings.

Vocational training is a key contributor for achieving UN SDG7

Schneider Electric has committed to United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and notably to SDG7: ensuring access to sustainable energy for all which is a prerequisite for child education, quality of life and economic development.

Demand for decentralized renewable energy solutions like home solar, mini-grids and productive use appliances are growing across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Direct job potential for decentralized renewable energy solutions is 4.5 million by 2030. However, there is a widening shortage of job-ready workers who can develop, install, operate and service distributed solutions for homes and businesses. Closing this gap with skills and job trainings at the center of global energy access efforts, will determine the success in reaching SDG7.

“At Schneider Electric, we train experts in energy leveraging our strong partnerships with training centers all over the world,” said Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Senior VP at Schneider Electric. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for people to get skills and then to find a job or even to become entrepreneurs in energy-related fields. These people are not only changing their lives but also their community and will contribute to the development of their country by bringing new energy solutions which are safe, reliable and sustainable.”

In 2009, Schneider Electric launched a global program to support vocational training in energy-related fields. The initiative means access to qualified employment or entrepreneurship for people from underprivileged backgrounds who can have a better future and enhance their communities. Our ambition is to provide professional training to one million people by 2025.