Skip to main content

Volvo CE’s African technical scheme

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) says it is confronting a shortage of technicians in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) project. The aim is to help support and modernise technical schools in Africa, and Volvo CE will take a hands-on approach with a project at Selam Technical and Vocational College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing new equipment, training materials, teacher training, ongoing curriculum development and apprenticeship opportunities fo
August 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
2394 Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) says it is confronting a shortage of technicians in Sub-Saharan Africa with a 6459 Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) project. The aim is to help support and modernise technical schools in Africa, and Volvo CE will take a hands-on approach with a project at Selam Technical and Vocational College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing new equipment, training materials, teacher training, ongoing curriculum development and apprenticeship opportunities for students. Developing a technical programme will benefit OEMs such as Volvo by providing a larger pool of skilled workers.

“This project will increase the number of trained mechanics in our African markets, which benefits Volvo as well as other local OEMs,” says Jonas Rönnebratt, aftermarket director in EMEA South (Africa Lena Ingelstam, head of the Department for Global Cooperation at Sida, says: “A major obstacle to economic development in this region is the availability of skilled labour, especially in technical professions. “We believe that this project can serve as a model for other vocational schools in the country and facilitate the emergence of new enterprises.” The project will train about 30 students a year, and is a first for Volvo CE in Africa but if it works well, the company hopes to expand into other African countries in the future.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volvo CE ‘routes’ for Chicago highway project
    May 22, 2014
    More than 2.5 million m³ of material is being moved with a fleet of Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) articulated haulers in the US state of Illinois. Home to the world’s first skyscraper, the Chicago Bears – and the Blues Brothers – Illinois is the fifth most populous American state and a major transport hub. Industrial cities and agricultural productivity is growing in central and northern Illinois – while natural resources like coal, timber and oil and gas in the south help provide the state with
  • Thermal Road Repairs and Rowad in Egypt deal
    July 28, 2025
    Low-carbon asphalt repair technology from UK-based Thermal Road Repairs will be used by Rowad Modern Engineering, based in Cairo, for Egypt and regions.
  • New Trimble research lab at Purdue
    September 28, 2023
    A new Trimble research lab is being established at Purdue University.
  • Volvo CE machines in Indonesia quarry
    November 20, 2015
    The operation is now using one of the EC220DL excavator models, which has helped boost productivity by some 30%. In addition, the machine is said to be delivering savings in running costs at the Alam Jaya volcanic rock quarry, through reducing fuel consumption by two litres/hour. The site is located close to West Java’s capital city, Bandung, at the foot of the volcano, Tangkuban Perahu. The city is home to 2.5 million people and sits at 768m above sea level, while it benefits from one of Indonesia’s coo