A training center will be established in Moldova at the initiative and with the support of the Energy and Biomass Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to deliver ongoing and qualified training to the Moldovan operators of biomass heating systems.

There are more than 200 schools, kindergartens, community centers and more than 1,000 households and tens of companies in Moldova with biomass heating systems, which require qualified maintenance.

“This initiative aims at ensuring the sustainability of the interventions of the Energy and Biomass Project after its completion. The operators of biomass heating systems that have been installed with the project support are being trained and consulted by the experts and companies that installed the heating systems, and it is critical that this training continues both for the current operators and for the future ones”, claims Lina Acalugaritei, capacity development officer, Energy and Biomass Project.

The Energy and Biomass Project invites the public and private institutions to join the competition for the selection of the national partner that will establish the first Training Center for operators of combined and solid biofuel heating systems. The project will grant 25,000 USD to the winning institution, which will also provide co-financing of at least 30% of the grant.

To join the competition, the institutions have to meet minimum eligibility criteria:

• To represent a public or private institution;
• Experience in organizing relevant trainings;
• Good knowledge and understanding of the biomass energy sector in Moldova;
• Demonstrate a good understanding of energy production with the help of solar systems;
• Demonstrate a good understanding of the legal procedures for the establishment of the Training Center and accreditation procedures;
• Past experience of working with international organizations, in particular UNDP (will be an asset).
• The submitted projects must comply with several requirements concerning the establishment of the Training Center and training delivery:
• before the Training Center’s curriculum will get the accreditation of the Ministry of Education, a preliminary operation authorization/accreditation from the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education is needed;
• the training offer must contain district-level or at least community-level training;
• the duration of the training courses must not be less than 40 hours, including 16 hours of practical training with direct access to solid biofuel technology;
• the training services will be contracted by the local governments and the public institutions that delegate operators to training. Given that the goal is to ensure the sustainability of the training center, it is critical that the price offer for the training services takes this into account.

The costs of the training services will be covered by the local governments or local public institutions. The price offer for the training services will take this sensitive issue into account.

The deadline for submission of applications is October 14, 2016, 5 pm. To apply, the public or private institutions will submit the following:

• Application form – filled in either Romanian or English. Hand-written forms will not be accepted;
• The copy of the registration certificate and CV of the institution.

The Energy and Biomass Project, in partnership with the Energy Efficiency Agency of Moldova, will hold a briefing session with questions and answers to give details about the application procedure. The briefing session will take place on September 26, 2016, 10 am, in the Conference Room of the Le Roi Business Center, floor 3, 29 Sfatul Tarii str. All the interested public and private institutions are invited to attend.

To confirm participation: facsimile 022 83 99 83 mihail.maciuca@undp.org, indicate the name of the person who will attend.

To apply, visit: http://www.undp.md/tenders/tnddetails2/1308.

The Energy and Biomass Project is a 2015-2017 project with a total budget of 9.41 mln. Euro.