The international certification body, the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Non-Profit Organisation issued a license in 2002 for the first time to South African Chapter of the AEE, the Southern African Association Energy Efficiency (SAEE), now known as the Southern African Energy Efficiency Confederation (SAEEC), together with the Energy Training Foundation (EnTF), a then division of Energy Cybernetics (Pty) Ltd. Energy Cybernetics was bought by the EOH Group, with the EnTF services later integrated into the EOH Learning and Development leg of the group. With AEE’s new aligned mission and vision, AEE called to service the establishment of an entity that could deliver on its mission and vision with aligned values, subsequently, the Non-Profit Organisation was established as required by the AEE and launched in 2020 as the Institute of Energy Professionals Africa (IEPA). AEE licensed programs have been the longest-standing training and certification programs in Africa.

Over 8,000 candidates have been trained under the AEE license since 2002 representing more than 1,700 companies from various industries like mines, consulting firms, ESCOs, Universities, OEMs, government departments, commercial buildings, utilities, water and wastewater, chemical, and the majority of industrial sectors in the region from food and beverage, automotive, pulp and paper, and the list goes on. Training projects and programs have been successfully delivered in the major cities of South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Swaziland, Seychelles, Nigeria, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Candidates trained in the Sub-Sahara African region have represented countries such as India, Syria, China, Germany, Tanzania, Mozambique, Sudan, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mauritius, Congo, Dar Es Salaam, Dubai, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Lesotho, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, and Transkei.

Over 60 inhouse and custom projects have been successfully developed and delivered under the AEE license, customizing programs to meet the outcomes required by organizations, combining modules with practical sessions to embed knowledge taught in theory, managing learners in energy workplace skills development projects, and mentoring organizations and learners in the practical requirements related to topics that contribute towards sustainability.