The Escola Industrial e Commercial of Mindelo-Guilherme Dias Chantre is located in the Center of Mindelo on the island of São Vicente.
The school also offers a 13th grade class for students who have completed their final year. The aim is to complete the initial training to allow better professional integration of young people.
In 2015/2016, the general education had 856 students divided into 37 classes from 7th to 10th grade. 217 students divided into 12 classes attended the technical education. The school offered six technical branches: Electricity-Electronics, Civil Engineering, Accounting and Administration, Graphic Arts, Computer Management and Mechanics.
Although the school is located in a rather affluent area, many students come from disadvantaged backgrounds on the outskirts of Mindelo. The school is making efforts to mobilize resources and help these young people reduce school fees.
The Escola Industrial e Commercial has an excellent reputation for training electrical technicians, but the equipment in technical devices is very old.
The school does not train specialists in solar energy, although this renewable energy offers interesting prospects for the economic development of the islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão.
The NGO A-AH will equip the school with photovoltaic panels. It will buy the material and provide the installation of the equipment.
A-AH will finance the specialized tools necessary for the practical training of specialist technicians in the installation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems.
The Industrial and Commercial School of Mindelo-Guilherme Dias Chantre will set up in its section “Generation, transmission and distribution of electricity” a practical specialization course “Photovoltaic systems”. The training will be aimed at students in 10th grade and students who have finished their schooling but wish to join this training.
The technical high school expects 20 candidates per year. This training will cover a period of 12 months. At the end of the training, a certificate of “installation and maintenance technician for photovoltaic systems”, approved by the Cape Verdean State, will be issued to the students.
The School will hire a qualified teacher as well as workshop supervisors, define the program and set up the training.