Skills for a Just Climate Transition Indaba

Towards a Skills Plan: Reflecting on the JET-IP skills development interventions

South Africa is at a crucial stage of transitioning towards an environmentally sustainable and low carbon economy. The global climate change impacts pose significant challenges to economic growth and employment and is anticipated that this will increase in the medium and long-term. As South Africa transition to a low carbon economy, there will be jobs and skills at risk, particularly those sectors with limited alternatives for lower carbon means of production. The country also faces a deepening energy crisis coupled with global and domestic shift towards sustainable greener energy generation and its use in the economy.

The transition presents unique economic opportunities necessitating the need for South Africa to build a skills roadmap that addresses the Just Energy Transition. There is a need to unpack the skills in extended and connected value chains in the renewable energy, green hydrogen, sustainable transportation, energy storage, smart technologies, and mining industries which has critical implications on current jobs and new occupations and skills for the energy and other productive sectors of the economy.

The Energy Skills Roadmap which was developed by South African National Energy Association (SANEA) in partnership with Wits Business School’s Africa Energy Leadership Centre (AELC) and the University of Witwatersrand’s Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) identify that skills requirement for the energy sector system necessitates an ecosystem and integrated approach and acknowledgement of the transformative process that is occurring over time and in local geographic areas.

The objectives of the skills indaba are:

• Knowledge sharing: Mechanisms for demand led skills interventions.
• Foster innovation and creativity: Identifying niche or emerging industries and their skills as key opportunities.
• Fostering inclusiveness: Towards a gender and youth-inclusive energy sector.
• Inspire action: Provide a platform to reflect on the submitted interventions for the JET IP skills chapter.
• Initiate long term research programmes for future skills development planning with the intent to integrate climate transition considerations into the national skills development plan.