12.03.2025
Dmytro Drozd is a thermal power engineer with 20 years of experience who worked at Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plants and is currently employed at Ladyzhyn Thermal Power Plant. He is the coordinator of the recently established Energy Efficiency Center in the Ladyzhyn community. Dmytro is undergoing training from Energy Club under the “EnergyStart: Training for the Future” program.
“The training is useful; it’s systematic work that helps me stay focused, and it’s a major effort by specialists who structure the program for the convenience of course participants,” he says. “Everything is as accessible as possible, well-organized. In addition to lectures, they provide us with links to legislative acts and platforms, and I gather additional necessary information from the internet.
I’m already beginning to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Together with representatives of local self-government bodies, we are developing provisions for an energy management system, and I hope it will be submitted for consideration at the next session. I definitely recommend training from Energy Club – it’s an effective tool for everyone.”
Dmytro is one of 43 participants in the “EnergyStart: Training for the Future” educational program from Energy Club, which launched at the end of January. As you can see, some training participants have already begun applying their acquired knowledge in practice. Among them is Hanna Rubanova, head of the capital construction department of the infrastructure management of the executive committee of Volodymyr-Volynskyi City Council and energy manager:
“I am very satisfied with the training from Energy Club under the ‘EnergyStart: Training for the Future’ program. Clear organization, convenient online format. I always try to stay informed about innovations in legislation and regulatory documents to help our communal enterprises in a timely manner. I receive a lot of necessary information during the training. We are currently developing a municipal energy plan, and we will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in developing energy-efficient measures to reduce natural gas consumption and implement renewable energy sources. I would recommend the ‘EnergyStart’ training program to everyone, especially those who are just starting their path in this direction.
The training is comprehensive, accessible, with detailed explanations and exhaustive, competent answers to all questions. The field of energy efficiency is developing rapidly, and renewable energy sources and distributed generation are very relevant issues today, about which not every specialist in local self-government bodies has sufficient knowledge for practical application. Energy Club provides an opportunity to gain such knowledge and practical skills.”
The “EnergyStart: Training for the Future” program is aimed at preparing specialists for the energy and energy efficiency sector. The training is conducted with the support of the project “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine,” implemented by GIZ Ukraine on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The training participants are representatives of local communities: heads and secretaries of village, settlement, and city councils, specialists from economic development departments, housing and communal services and energy departments, community activists and environmentalists, as well as investors interested in distributed generation projects.
The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity to gain additional knowledge and practical skills in the field of energy efficiency and energy, which will facilitate further employment in companies in these sectors and active participation in Ukraine’s recovery projects.
A key feature of this program is that the training is conducted by specialists and employees of companies from the energy sector of the economy and experts in energy efficiency.
Among the lecturers are: Dmytro Olefir – expert in energy systems management and electricity market functioning; Maksym Nemchynov – deputy chairman of the board of PJSC “Odesagaz”; Valerii Bezus – head of the State Energy Efficiency Agency (2021-2023); Serhii Kucher – international expert at CIGRE-Ukraine; Stanislav Ignatiev – chairman of the Council of the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy; Oleksandr Aliokhin – head of the Ukrainian Digital Power Huawei division; Illia Prytula – head of green generation at JSC “Energy Company of Ukraine”; Serhii Kozhedub – head of the Research Laboratory “Energy Center-KNUBA”; Yevhen Kulinko – certified energy auditor, specialist in energy efficiency of building engineering systems; and others.
The training is designed and conducted in partnership with energy companies. This ensures the relevance of educational materials and access to the latest knowledge and innovations in the field of energy efficiency and energy. Thus, program participants gain valuable knowledge from professional practitioners who work directly in this field. And therefore, upon completion of the “EnergyStart” course, they will have a deep understanding of processes in these areas and even practical skills.
In addition, the “EnergyStart: Training for the Future” program opens doors to promising careers in energy efficiency and energy, as managers are looking for motivated people who seek to develop in this field. Employment opportunities are broad: the program prepares specialists for participation in projects aimed at Ukraine’s recovery, which is important for the country’s sustainable development.
The three-month course includes lectures and practical classes (online learning using multimedia tools) as well as independent work. Classes are held twice a week – every Tuesday and Thursday – for two hours each.
“A few years ago, to find answers to your questions, you had to review a lot of literature, reference materials, and internet resources. Today it is much easier to find the necessary information, but you need to keep up with changes in regulatory documents and global trends in the field of energy efficiency,” says Tetiana Kovalenko, chief specialist at the department of finance, economics, and investments of Sumy City Council and energy manager. “I became a participant in the training from Energy Club on my own initiative because as a specialist, I must constantly improve myself and enhance my qualifications. The ‘EnergyStart: Training for the Future’ course brought together many experts who share their own experience, developments, and current data on the state of the energy system, and this is very valuable. It was interesting to learn about the experience of other countries – from the perspective of what can be implemented in our community. I liked the opportunity to ask questions to lecturers and communicate with other participants with similar inquiries. A large amount of necessary specialized information is adapted for listeners with different levels of preparation. And this will be useful not only for specialists but also for ordinary citizens.”
Ruslan Popitchenko, an energy efficiency specialist and energy manager at the municipal enterprise “Miskvodokonal” in Mukachevo, has already studied under GSS programs from Germany. He says it was interesting to continue improving his qualification level, so he gladly responded to Energy Club’s proposal, passed the competitive selection, and became a participant in the “EnergyStart” training program: “The training is very useful for me because it is taught by experienced high-level specialists – Maksym Nemchynov, Valerii Bezus, Stanislav Ignatiev, and others. I like the convenient format – there is an opportunity to join the live online broadcast, ask questions, or view lectures on Energy Club platforms. Interesting cases on organizing and implementing energy management systems for enterprises are very important for us. Based on the results of the training, I give advice to my management on organizing solar generation, modernizing the water utility, and the efficiency of energy resource consumption.
Given that among the lecturers are not only university professors but also practitioners with extensive experience in various energy fields, I recommend this program to all colleagues. As an energy efficiency specialist, I have participated in training programs as a speaker on improving enterprise operations, thermal modernization, and reducing energy consumption. I am very grateful to Energy Club, the governments of Germany and Switzerland, who involve the best specialists so that we can improve our level of knowledge and skills. It was announced that Ukraine needs specialists who will complete training under the ‘EnergyStart: Training for the Future’ program, so I am planning my career development and will be grateful for proposals.”
The material was prepared within the framework of the program “EnergyStart: Training for the Future” program, implemented with the support of the project ‘Promoting Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine’, implemented by GIZ Ukraine on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of GIZ Ukraine, BMZ or SECO.
