Norway and Tanzania has cooperated in the energy sector since 1970. This year marks 50 years of energy cooperation. Based on a relationship of trust and mutual respect our two countries continue working together in the energy sector and on education.

Arusha Technical College (ATC), founded in 1978, offers education, training and skills development through different programs, ranging from vocational training and shorter courses to bachelor degrees. Among ATC’s many fields of study are hydropower, plumbing, transportation, computer science and welding. Girls are still in a minority at the college, however, 25% of their 2000 students are girls and ATC continue their efforts to increase their representation.

There is a great need in Tanzania for the practical vocational training and skills that technical colleges offer (…). By providing a qualified workforce, promoting gender equality and developing good managers, technical and vocational training institutions can boost business development. In that regard, I would like to commend the good work the college is doing on gender equality at the college over the years. However, more efforts are needed to attract more female students, said the Norwegian Ambassador in her remarks at the ATC Graduation Ceremony, January 18^th. The Ambassador also used the opportunity to wish the ATC graduates good luck bringing their practical engineering skills with them into working life.

Norway entered into an agreement to support ATC with NOK 23 million in 2014. The Norwegian contribution was given to ensure technical support for ATC to realise plans to reconstruct and develop a hydropower plant at Kikuletwa as well as develop courses in hydropower and establish the Kikuletwa Hydropower Training Centre.

Together Norway, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) and ATC have achieved many of the goals of the cooperation. Among the successes is the improved education facilities for the centre, including classrooms, student dormitories, expate housing and access roads. The education facilities also include a turbine testing station. Furthermore, the program has invested in human capital, increasing the competence of the ATC’s academic staff in hydropower engineering through various tailor made trainings. The trainings have been developed in partnership with the Norwegian International Centre for Hydropower (ICH) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). During the implementation stage, job opportunities for up to 400 people in the community surrounding Kikuletwa were created. The construction of a hydropower plant for training purposes has not been realized at this stage, due to challenging framework conditions for business investments in Tanzania.

The agreement between Norway and ATC expired in 2019, and ATC will continue the further development of Kikuletwa Hydropower Training Centre in collaboration with the World Bank. Being a part of the World Bank’s program “The Eastern African Skills for Transformation and Regional Project”, the Kikuletwa Hydropower Training Centre will work towards becoming a Centre of Excellence.