How much do younger generations know about the lighting industry? Is it interesting to young people? Are they aware of the opportunities it offers and the future it can provide? The modern world needs smart lighting that is more precise, more extensive, better installed, and more thoughtfully planned and utilized. This situation is driving up the demand for specialized technicians, but at the same time, Spain is facing a shortage of professionals, making it necessary to focus on generational succession in the lighting industry.
In response to this, initiatives such as Grupo Coelca ’s GRUDIEVENTO in Gran Canaria have emerged, in which ROBLAN participates as a partner and training provider. GRUDIEVENTO was aimed at second-year vocational training students in the fields of electricity and telecommunications, as well as their teachers. As a result, this year’s event focused on introducing future professionals to the technological realities of the electrical and lighting sectors, facilitating direct contact with manufacturers, distributors, and specialized companies. Keep reading to find out everything we covered in the talk we had the opportunity to give!
The Six Best Career Paths in the Lighting Industry
A significant portion of our presentation focused on the most in-demand career paths in the lighting industry, many of which were unfamiliar to the students:
- Lighting designer: designs lighting for hotels, stadiums, museums, and building facades. Combines electrical engineering with design and architecture.
- DALI/DMX Programmer: programs lighting control systems, creates scenes and automations. This is a highly sought-after position that requires three to six months of training.
- Remote Management System: Manages a municipality's street lighting from a computer. Controls hundreds of streetlights, detects malfunctions, and schedules energy-saving measures.
- IAC Technician, Protected Sky: Installs lighting that complies with the Sky Law in the Canary Islands. It is a very niche market with very few qualified professionals.
- Stage and Event Lighting Technician: Installs lighting programs in theaters, at concerts, and at sporting events. Every project is different, and this is a highly in-demand role.
- Dialux Calculator: Performs photometric calculations using specialized software. Determines how much light each space needs. The software used is free.
ROBLAN's Presentation: Enthusiasm, Motivation, and Commitment to the Next Generations
The truth is that the electrician of the future doesn’t just install—they also program, manage data, configure smart systems, and work with advanced technologies. This is one of the messages we tried to convey in our presentation during the event—and it’s something young people aren’t aware of. At ROBLAN, as a leading LED lighting company with more than 50 years of history, we understand that it is part of our responsibility to share our knowledge and everything the industry has given us with the younger generations to help them discover the real opportunities and the great potential this industry offers young people.
The presentation on the importance of generational succession, given by Arturo Pereira (General Manager), Kristel Bastardo (architect and Lightfluencer/lighting designer in the Canary Islands), and Tomas García (service manager and sales representative for the region), focused on the evolution of lighting into an advanced technological discipline, where light fixtures are no longer merely points of light, but smart devices capable of communicating, automating, and being managed remotely.
5 Key Points from ROBLAN's Presentation on Generational Transition
- We show students real-world applications: those related to lighting control using protocols such as DALI and DMX, sensor integration, remote management of street lighting, Smart Cities, and autonomous lighting solutions powered by solar energy.
- We address specific aspects of the Canary Islands, such as regulations for protecting the night sky in areas used for astronomical observation, explaining the importance of color temperature and light pollution, as well as the career opportunities arising in this field due to the shortage of specialized technicians.
- We’re talking about emerging professional roles: we’ve already mentioned them because they deserved their own section. They’re related to lighting design, control system programming, remote management, lighting calculations, and smart lighting.
- We presented examples and real-world projects from ROBLAN: students learned about technologies that are already being implemented in municipalities, infrastructure, and public spaces across the islands, discovering new opportunities for specialization within the electrical and lighting sectors. In addition, various projects developed jointly by Grupo Coelca and ROBLAN were presented—particularly those with a stronger technological component—along with explanations of how they work, the challenges of implementation, and real-world use cases.
- We included training on photometric concepts— which are essential for the design of lighting systems—with a focus on the UGR (Unified Glare Rating), its meaning, application criteria, and basic calculation methodology. This module was conducted in an interactive manner, encouraging direct student participation through questions and practical exercises.
Students and professors showed a high level of engagement throughout the day, asked technical questions, and expressed interest in technologies that many of them had not been familiar with until then. It was an enriching experience for our team—it was a real privilege to share our knowledge and build synergies with the future of the lighting industry! Let’s embrace this generational shift!
