Page 278 - ISES SWC50

After meeting Mark Fitzgerald in 1997 Geoff had kept in touch with him. Geoff
believed in what Mark was doing with ISP, that is establishing a framework
for accreditation renewable energy technician competency-based training
courses. Geoff became an ISP Master Trainer and also joined the board of ISP
in 2000. Until Mark’s early passing in 2005, GSES worked closely with ISP
in many projects with the aim of establishing the ISP framework in the Asia
Pacific region. Through the work with ISP, GSES travelled extensively through
Asia in the early 2000’s leading to many projects. It also led to major projects in
India and China in the late 2000’s.
Geoff Stapleton, Mark Fitzgerald and
Stephen Garret in China for Auditor
Training in Dec 2002

In June 2000 Geoff went to Ghana , with
Geoff and Stephen Garret returning in
October 2000. During these visits we met Mr
Frede Bosteen from Deng Ltd. The end result
was that GSES worked with Frede who then
established the Deng Solar Training Centre
(DSTC). GSES conducted many training
courses in Ghana between 2004 and 2010
and still maintains a relationship with the
training centres . Geoff at first Ghana Training Course Frede Bosteen and Geoff
(2003) - Frede Bosteen and Geoff

Based on the business training courses that GSES had been conducting and along with the
years of experience in operating small businesses GSES published their first book in 2000 titled:
The Solar Entrepreneurs Handbook.
From 2008 onwards GSES became a major publisher of technical training books that are regularly
updated. Versions have been developed for Australia, USA and global editions to cover the
requirements of different technical standards.

In 2006, GSES won a UNDP contract to develop a grid connect training course for Malaysia including the manual ,
conduct training and train the trainers. Basically, helping Malaysia establish their grid connect training centres. After
returning from finishing the first part of the Malaysia project in 2007 Geoff found that there was still no technical
college in the state of New South Wales offering training in solar, particularly Grid connect. GSES then proceeded
to plan to become a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). GSES hired their first staff person (Belinda Thorne)
outside of the founding partners. GSES established online training and developed the Australian version of the grid
connect book that had been developed for Malaysia. Stephen Garrett, through his own company Pyramid Power,
built the training centre in Pambula which GSES rented from him. The training centre opened in 2008.

Like many countries around the world, the mid to late 2000’s marked the boom of PV
and for Australia it was 2007 onwards. As a result, opening the RTO was the start
of GSES’s growth. GSES hired their second full time person in 2008 and then Susan
Neill one of the partners sold her company to Conergy (from Germany) and she joined
GSES full time early 2009 to manage the office in Sydney while Geoff maintained
growing the international business.

GSES First Australian Training Centre

In 2012, GSES started a joint venture with Dwipen Boruah with GSES India opening in New Delhi. That company
also has over 20 staff in the office.
Since 2008, GSES has grown substantially and there are currently 26 staff in the Sydney office. In 2014 GSES hired
Chris Martell, who became manager at the Sydney office at the end of 2016 after Susan Neill retired. GSES is still
an RTO, publisher of training manuals, developing numerous short training courses and involved with OS projects.
Within Australia it is involved in engineering design and undertaking inspections of systems.

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