Closure of the RESET Project

We are pleased to share with you the key results of the RESET project, implemented from October 2023 to September 2025 across the Western Balkans. The project focused on education and skills development for the support of renewable energy transition. In addition to presenting the project’s achievements, we would like to highlight that the teaching and learning materials developed (on the subjects of Solar Photovoltaic Systems and Electrical Equipment in Wind Power Plants) within RESET are available for your use in future work and educational activities.

Below you can find a full overview of achievements.

In the Western Balkans, carbon intensity is more than five times higher than in the EU, and that most households still rely on coal, oil, or even traditional firewood for heating. This dependence not only makes the region one of the most carbon-intensive in Europe, but also increases vulnerability to energy poverty, health risks, and economic instability.  To tackle this, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, launched in 2020, set a clear direction: cut CO₂ emissions, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and move towards renewable energy. But there is a catch – without skilled workers and modern education systems, this transition cannot succeed.

This is where the RESET – Renewable Energy Services in Education and Training project came in. Implemented by the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE), with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Under the Regional Climate Partnership framework, RESET served as the education and skills dimension of the broader regional project Green Agenda: Decarbonisation of the Electricity Sector in the Western Balkans.

While the Green Agenda: Decarbonisation of the Electricity Sector in the Western Balkans set the overall direction and long-term goals of the energy transition, the RESET project focused on making these ambitions tangible in the vocational education and training sector. By developing teaching materials, strengthening vocational education and training (VET) systems, and supporting VET and qualification agencies, schools, teachers, and learners, the RESET project helped ensure that the transition to renewable energy is not only about new technologies and infrastructure, but also about people and the skills that will shape the region’s energy future.

Over two years (2023–2025), RESET project team worked across six Western Balkan economies – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo^[1]*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia – and delivered concrete, lasting results:

• Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM): the regional teaching and learning resources were developed for two areas critical to the renewable energy sector – Installation and Maintenance of Solar Photovoltaic Systems and Installation and Maintenance of Electrical Equipment in Wind Power Plants. The TLM was published in Albanian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian.
• Action Plan Supporting Education and Training for the Renewable Energy Sector was developed as strategic document that provides an overview of the education and energy sector in the context of the energy transition and greening of vocational education and training (VET), recommendations on supporting education and training sector for the renewable energy transition in the Western Balkans and the set of actions and recommended activities for Western Balkans education and training systems on supporting renewable energy sector.
• Awareness raising and outreach campaigns at regional and national levels: Through two regional EduEnergy conferences, 12 national events, and a targeted media campaign, the RESET project, brought together educators, businesses, policymakers, and the wider public.
  • The first EduEnergy Conference: Building Bridges for Sustainable Energy Learning (March 2024) examined challenges in the energy sector and the skills needed to support the green transition, engaging over 200 participants from the region. The second conference, EduEnergy 2.0: Towards Shaping the Future of Renewable Energy Transition in the Western Balkans (October 2024), focused on the role of education in renewable energy transition, exploring labour market needs, social sustainability, and gender equity. Both conferences provided regional platforms for dialogue, exchange, and alignment between education systems and the energy sector, ensuring that skills development is recognised as a cornerstone of the green transition.
  • In addition, twelve national events were organised across all Western Balkan economies between April and June 2025. These events gathered representatives of vocational schools and adult education providers, introduced the newly developed regional teaching and learning materials on solar photovoltaics and wind power, and highlighted labour market needs, gender aspects, and funding opportunities. By engaging education institutions, experts, and policymakers at the national level, the events strengthened cooperation with the energy sector and promoted renewable energy careers more directly within each economy.

From its start in Budva in November 2023 to the final Action Plan in September 2025, RESET has shown what regional cooperation can achieve: new teaching and learning tools, joint set of proposed actions, and stronger bridges between schools and the labour market.

Find out more about the project and its results on the project page.

[1] * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNCSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo* declaration of independence.