ABOUT KWS
KWS Energy Knowledge eG. is more than a mere vocational training school – it is an institution whose origins date back to the late 1950s. In the 1950s, Germany’s power industry, represented by the VGB, the Association of Large Boiler Owners, decided to act on the recognition that disturbances, malfunctions, and serious accidents in power plants were often mismanaged or even caused by insufficiently trained operating crews. With the rapid expansion of Germany’s power plant capacities and the ever-increasing complexity of power plant technology, the need for standardized high-quality personnel training throughout the industry was evident. Therefore, KWS Energy Knowledge, a school dedicated exclusively to comprehensive basic and advanced training of power plant personnel, was set up in Essen, Germany in the year 1957.
Initially, training focused on power plant shift supervisors from German fossil-fuelled power plants only, and all courses were conducted on the school’s premises in Essen, with emphasis on theoretical classroom instruction.
Today, it is a whole new ballgame, as the saying goes. First of all, the range of training offerings is greater than ever, covering virtually all levels, departments, and aspects of power plant operations including maintenance, occupational safety, environmental protection etc. You name it, we’ve got it.
In addition to conventional coal- or gas-fired power plants, KWS’s training today not only encompasses CCGT, hydro power, or renewable energy plants, but also industrial or thermal waste utilization facilities.
While classroom lectures are still important, modern instruction tools like sophisticated mobile power plant simulators permit realistic, hands-on training wherever the customer desires. Also, the scope, the contents, and the duration of training courses can be tailored to meet any client’s specific needs, thanks to KWS’s modularized course structure.
Most significantly, KWS Energy Knowledge has evolved from a national to a global player. First, companies from other European countries and later customers from all over the world increasingly availed themselves to KWS’s services.
