This chapter explores how South Africa can build the skills needed to advance renewable energy deployment and unlock job creation in South Africa. It analyses key skills gaps, challenges in technical and vocational training and the role of industry‑recognised certification in translating training into employment. Drawing on the example of rooftop solar photovoltaic, it highlights how more coherent and place‑based skills ecosystems can support inclusive job creation, particularly in coal‑dependent regions such as Mpumalanga.
Overcoming Financial and Capacity Barriers to Empower Small‑Scale Enterprises in South Africa
Focus on Renewable, Reliable, Secure and Affordable Energy in Mpumalanga and the Western Cape
Abstract
The renewable energy sector in South Africa is expected to generate new entrepreneurial and employment opportunities across a range of sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and rehabilitation activities, including mine closure and land restoration, power plant decommissioning and ecosystem recovery. In coal regions such as Mpumalanga, developing entrepreneurial activities and creating new job opportunities is particularly important given the projected decline in coal-related employment and the need to support alternative livelihoods.
Job creation spans the full project lifecycle, from construction and installation to operations, maintenance and related services, as well as indirect opportunities in local supply chains and entrepreneurship. However, employment impacts do not arise automatically and are not evenly distributed geographically. In the case of solar photovoltaic (PV), most opportunities are expected in downstream activities. Without complementary measures, decentralised energy projects risk generating primarily short-term jobs with limited lasting effects.
Realising more inclusive and sustained employment outcomes requires stronger alignment between energy deployment, skills development, enterprise support and market demand. In the context of persistently high unemployment and ongoing structural change, this chapter examines how renewable energy systems and value chains can support more durable and locally grounded job creation. A detailed analysis of renewable energy workforce trends and forecasts for Mpumalanga and the Western Cape is provided in Annex B.
3.2.1. Current skill development pathways remain fragmented
While many initiatives have sought to improve general understanding of economic and distributional challenges, efforts remain fragmented and poorly co‑ordinated. The JET IP’s detailed analysis of current challenges and recommendations for improvement highlights the poor integration of skills planning with broader economic sectors, which undermines workforce transition strategies and overall policy coherence (The Presidency, Republic of South Africa, 2024[1]). Strengthening institutional co‑ordination between government departments, industry bodies and training providers will be critical to ensure coherence and avoid fragmented interventions.
Despite the proliferation of training programmes across affected communities, many participants find themselves in a prolonged waiting position, hoping that grants or external support will eventually allow them to translate their new skills into viable livelihoods. This cycle fuels frustration and disillusionment, as training is not always leading to concrete pathways into employment, enterprise development or further learning opportunities. In many cases, the content of training programmes does not correspond to real‑world labour market needs, resulting in qualifications that are poorly aligned with employer demand or local economic opportunities; hence, the critical importance of skills mapping.
Skills development is one of the six strategic portfolios of the JET IP (Annex B). Despite progress, the skills portfolio is not yet delivering the scale of outcomes expected. In line with the ILO global framework for core skills, South Africa still has some way to go to strengthen the basic skills needed for renewable energy and other green jobs of its future workforce, particularly environmental awareness, waste reduction and waste management, as well as energy and water efficiency (South Africa's Department of Higher Education & Training et al., 2023[2]). Other emerging economies, such as Egypt, have already revised their school curricula to incorporate biodiversity and sustainable development across all levels. These efforts aim to address gaps in environmental expertise and help create a new generation of Egyptian environmental professionals, thereby reducing reliance on international consultants (OECD, 2024[3]). International pressure to embed renewables and other environmental skills, including systems thinking and sustainability competencies, into national curricula is growing, and environmental literacy will become a core international benchmark through the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 2029.
3.2.2. Addressing critical technical skills shortages in the energy sector
South Africa faces an urgent shortage of sector‑specific expertise needed for advancing renewable energy deployment. Skills gaps are growing in renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, the circular economy and sustainable agriculture, with demand rising faster than training and qualification systems can supply. This has implications for the quality of service delivery of small-scale enterprises in the energy sector, as well as the ability to identify new business opportunities and prepare sound business and project proposals. For example, the Western Cape reports shortages across the embedded solar PV value chain, including project managers, PV designers, engineers, solar installers, battery technicians, maintenance workers, PV mounters and solar site workers (GreenCape, 2025[4]).
South Africa’s nascent green hydrogen industry is expected to generate far fewer direct jobs than other energy or green sectors, with specialised roles such as hydrogen fuel transporters already in short supply. Without timely action to address these gaps, the country risks achieving only limited employment gains from otherwise significant investments in green hydrogen infrastructure (Pillay, 2023[5]).
Technical skills shortage is already affecting major infrastructure and engineering projects and reflects a wider national gap in qualified artisans and engineering projects (Career Planet, 2025[6]). The rapid expansion and complexity of required skillsets mean that current efforts are not scaling quickly enough. Weaknesses in educational infrastructure, limited practical training pathways and difficulties attracting and retaining skilled labour remain key constraints.
Accelerated action is required to strengthen the effectiveness of current training programmes in responding to market needs, expand educational and practical training infrastructure and support the development of local talent. Building strong partnerships with TVET colleges, local innovation hubs and practitioner networks will be essential to deliver skills at scale and strengthen local capacity. Tertiary institutions also have a critical role to play in anticipating future skills needs, aligning curricula with emerging industry demands and training the next generation of engineers, technicians and professionals. Strengthening multistakeholder platforms, including initiatives such as the PowerUp digital skills facilitation platform, can enhance co‑ordination, reduce duplication and ensure that training provision keeps pace with industry needs (EW SETA, 2025[7]). By consolidating partnerships, improving training pathways and strengthening institutional capacity, South Africa can better prepare its workforce for renewable energy and unlock broader economic opportunities.
3.2.3. Expanding and scaling up TVET programmes
Despite the investment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and skills development in South Africa over the past two decades, 43% of the one million young people leaving school each year become discouraged within six months. Within a year of leaving school, nearly two-thirds of young people find themselves out of any system of employment, education or training (OECD, 2025[8]). These patterns underscore a persistent disconnect between skills supply and labour market absorption.
Given South Africa’s growing population, the proportion of young people attaining vocational education in the energy sector has been shrinking over the past decade. Tertiary‑degree attainment from energy-relevant degrees also remains low compared with other emerging economies such as Brazil or Indonesia (Figure 3.1). Significantly higher investment in technical training will be required to equip the workforce with the skills needed to meet growing demand for energy‑related professions (IEA, 2025[9]).
Vocational and tertiary graduates from energy-relevant degrees per thousand young people, 2015 and 2022
Notes: ‘Energy-relevant’ fields correspond to ISCED-F field code 07 – Engineering, manufacturing and construction. Tertiary degrees include bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees (ISCED levels 06-08), while vocational qualifications are vocational degrees attained from lower-secondary to short-cycle tertiary level (ISCED levels 02-05). Young person refers to the population between 20-29 years of age.
Source: Data extracted from (IEA, 2025[9]).
South Africa’s TVET system continues to face numerous challenges in terms of relevance, quality and perception (South Africa's Department of Higher Education & Training et al., 2023[2]). TVET colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) continue to face capacity constraints, partly because available grants prioritise research over capacity‑building. Co-ordination across programme needs to be improved. Weak local learning networks further disrupt the development of targeted skills for green jobs.
TVETs also face major admission bottlenecks resulting in low throughput and certification rates. Despite the high level of youth unemployment, attracting candidates to enrol in vocational training remains challenging. TVET colleges require stronger support measures, including incentives such as scholarships, as well as improved information dissemination and marketing efforts to raise awareness of training opportunities.
Moreover, there continues to be a widely criticised mismatch between training offer and real-world industry needs (South Africa's Department of Higher Education & Training et al., 2023[2]). Stakeholder consultations conducted in early 2026 confirmed an urgent need to upgrade the knowledge and competencies of TVET trainers and to expand the offer of internships to allow young people to gain practical experience.
Many TVET colleges also struggle with the stigma associated with vocational education given the preference for academic pathways. This leads to a shortage of skilled workers in certain vocational fields. The credibility and perceived value of TVET qualifications is further undermined when employers do not recognise them as aligned with their needs. Ensuring industry-accredited training and proper certification of acquired skills is therefore essential to strengthen the labour‑market relevance of TVET training programmes.
Under the leadership of South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa could conduct a comprehensive performance assessment of existing TVET programmes to capture lessons learned, update curricula to be more future‑oriented and integrate environmental considerations across all modules. Many OECD countries, including Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Slovenia, have updated their apprenticeship programmes to integrate environmental skills. In several cases (e.g. Austria, Greece, Finland and Norway), new green modules now combine broad sustainability competences with technical skills such as waste management, sustainable energy technologies and carbon‑footprint analysis.
International good practices are readily available to help South Africa draw inspiration and chart its own path forward (OECD, 2025[10]). For example, in Sweden, a fast‑track programme for solar energy managers allows employed adults with relevant experience to gain tertiary‑level qualifications while remaining in work, with employers closely involved in curriculum design and workplace learning. In Denmark, a network of specialised Knowledge Centres within the VET system, including a new centre for agriculture and rural development, helps training institutions keep pace with technological shifts and the green transition by supporting curriculum updates, teacher development and sectoral collaboration.
Advancing green skills and certification for a future‑ready workforce could help address current gaps and improve consistency. Environmental considerations are not yet systematically mainstreamed across training facilities. This represents a significant missed opportunity. Streamlining training certification would also be an important first step to ensure that skills development efforts are recognised, comparable and more easily transferable across programmes and sectors.
Renewable energy deployment offers a unique opportunity to mainstream environmental considerations across the entire TVET system. This process could draw on existing evidence‑based analysis of future labour‑market requirements, skills‑gap mapping and local skills audits to design targeted training interventions in structurally weak areas, using tools such as the “Just Energy Transition Jobs Forecasting Atlas” (Box A B.1) to understand where job opportunities will emerge and where skills gaps may occur.
At the same time, delivery capacity can usefully be expanded and scaled up through strengthened partnerships with local colleges, accredited training providers and the deployment of mobile training units to reach remote communities. This is particularly relevant for rural areas in Mpumalanga, a province that currently hosts three TVET colleges, one per district, out of the 50 accredited and registered public TVET colleges operating across South Africa’s nine provinces.
To respond effectively to emerging skills needs, it will be essential not only to upgrade existing programmes but also to expand and scale up training opportunities across key green economic sectors, including agriculture, sustainable tourism, the circular economy and more efficient waste management. At present, these areas are only partially reflected in the training offer and are often delivered outside the TVET system.
Some promising pilot initiatives have begun to strengthen skills development in renewable energy and energy efficiency (Box 3.1). For example, NBI, working with industry partners, has piloted renewable energy‑focused training pathways and explored new approaches to aligning TVET provision with labour‑market demand, illustrating the potential for stronger public‑private collaboration to accelerate skills development for renewable energy and other related sectors. Another example is the certified training for energy performance practitioners supported by UNDP and its partners. In June 2025, a cohort of 75 students from Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande and Nkangala TVET Colleges in Mpumalanga completed a six‑month programme to assess, audit and improve the energy performance of buildings, following a similar pilot with 123 students in Limpopo (UNDP, 2025[11]).
The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Rapid Incubation at Gert Sibande TVET College in Evander plays a central role in supporting small-scale enterprise development across the province. Established in 2018 and operational since 2019, the Centre provides shared production space, offices, digital connectivity and access to student support for participating enterprises. Its model enables both student‑led and community‑based small businesses to develop, test and scale their business ideas while receiving structured technical and business support.
Entrepreneurship is embedded into the college curriculum from the outset, guided by the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Model. Through this approach, learners are encouraged to start enterprises while studying, and the Centre offers incubation services that help them progress from pre‑incubation to full acceleration. Partnerships with Standard Bank, Sasol, Allan Gray, SEDFA, Seriti and others enhance both financial and non‑financial support. Standard Bank, for instance, offers preferential financing to de‑risk small businesses, while additional business development services are provided directly or through outsourced partners.
The Centre currently operates at approximately 50% capacity, with plans to expand and establish a sixth hub to increase reach and impact. Site selection for new hubs is guided by the distribution of TVET campuses and the economic profile of surrounding industries. Recently, the Centre secured funding from KfW to expand its production facilities, strengthening its ability to support green and locally relevant enterprise development.
Although the Centre already offers support to MSMEs working in sectors such as solar installation, plumbing, and renewable energy‑related services, sustainability practices are not yet systematically mainstreamed. Many enterprises operate in these value chains without recognising it, indicating a need for clearer guidance and more explicit integration of environmental considerations.
Source: Information gathered during OECD mission in September 2025.
While these pilot projects provide valuable experience and important building blocks, specialised training in the renewable energy sector remains limited and continues to rely heavily on external partners. Many initiatives are further constrained by short project cycles, which undermines continuity and makes it difficult to sustain or scale promising programmes once initial funding phases conclude. As a result, several programmes have not advanced beyond the exploratory stage.
While digital literacy is a foundational skill, it is particularly relevant for renewable energy and energy efficiency, where modern solar, wind and battery systems as well as energy saving opportunities increasingly rely on digital monitoring, control and optimisation platforms. Workers must be able to use Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems, run diagnostics, analyse performance data and integrate systems into smart grids. These digital competencies can be readily embedded in sector‑specific TVET modules and practical training.
A key lesson learned is the need for sustained community engagement to attract interested candidates, as long‑term involvement is essential to build trust, ensure uptake and achieve lasting impact. Anchoring training offers within TVET programmes is therefore critical for fostering local ownership and ensuring alignment with recognised national certification requirements.
In carbon‑intensive regions such as Mpumalanga, tailored support is often required to help workers move into emerging low‑carbon activities. International experience shows that many coal‑related competencies – including working safely in hazardous environments and operating complex equipment – can transfer directly to renewable energy roles, allowing workers to retrain through short courses rather than multi‑year programmes. Projects like the European Union’s RES‑SKILL have demonstrated how mapping these overlaps can speed up reskilling and reduce barriers to entry (Table 3.1).
Although it is possible to expand and strengthen the training offer through local technical and vocational institutions, there are clear limits to how far reskilling and upskilling alone can go in areas where education levels remain low. The coal industry employs 29% high‑skilled workers, 63% mid‑skilled and 8% low‑skilled. High‑skilled professionals are expected to transition more easily into new job opportunities. However, a significant portion of mid‑ and low‑skilled workers will face greater challenges and will require targeted skills development and training (OECD, 2025[8]). Moreover, many related jobs in the broader coal value chain are low‑paid or located in the informal sector, making workers there more vulnerable and likely to struggle during the transition.
The Komati experience showed that many unemployed community members do not meet the educational or skills prerequisites needed to begin training, which means that training opportunities need to be made more accessible and better tailored to local realities (PCC, 2025[12]). Current numbers of trained community members remain low. In Komati, only a small number of people have benefitted from training opportunities, making the current scale of support far from sufficient.
Lessons learned on job creation by fourteen small-scale enterprises, 2020-24
Launched in 2020 in response to COVID‑19 with support from the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund and catalytic funding from the RMB Fund, the Green Outcomes Fund (GOF) blended R92.6 million (~USD 5.5 million) in grants with private capital, leveraging ZAR395.5 million (~USD 32.6 million) in investment from four Catalytic Finance Partners (CFPs): Conservation International Ventures (CIV), Edge Growth, Mergence Investment Managers and Business Partners (later replaced by IDF Capital). GreenCape served as the implementing partner, providing co-ordination, technical support and ecosystem building by assisting CFPs, facilitating negotiations, generating project pipelines and leading learning and knowledge‑sharing.
GOF demonstrated that outcomes‑based incentives can activate job creation even under severe economic constraints. A grant of ~ZAR 90 000 (USD 5 380) was awarded per direct green job. CFPs invested ZAR 290.6 million into 14 MSMEs, generating 946 permanent jobs, with strong participation of women and youth. Investments spanned energy, water, waste and sustainable agriculture. The flexibility of the GOF in not restricting eligible green sectors enabled CFPs to invest across a wide range of industries. Timelines were extended from 3 to 4.5 years, and investment and jobs targets were revised to reflect the challenging operating environment.
To build a stronger project pipeline, CFPs directed a significant share of their grants towards technical assistance and capacity building. While 12 of the 14 MSMEs were majority black‑owned, majority women‑ or youth‑owned enterprises remained uncommon, indicating that inclusiveness and geographic balance could be further strengthened in future iterations. Only 8% of 183 applicants received direct investment support.
Job creation was highly uneven: a single SME, WasteWant, accounted for 72% of all jobs. Excluding WasteWant, the remaining jobs were evenly distributed (33% low‑skilled, 37% mid‑skilled, 30% high‑skilled). Rural jobs tended to be lower‑skilled, while urban firms generated employment across all skill levels. These dynamics highlight the importance of shared job targets across CFPs, as identifying high‑growth MSMEs early is inherently uncertain.
Job creation lagged investment, suggesting that the 4.5‑year implementation period was too short to fully capture GOF’s impact, and additional employment gains are expected. Larger MSMEs generally created more jobs, whereas early‑growth firms required intensive, incubator‑type support and generated only a small number of jobs. A key limitation was that GOF rewarded only permanent jobs, overlooking temporary jobs and local livelihood opportunities created by nearly all MSMEs.
Key non-prescriptive recommendations for future iterations include:
Longer implementation periods to allow job creation to materialise.
Recognition of temporary, indirect and livelihood‑supporting jobs in outcomes payments.
Reduced reporting burdens and greater flexibility for CFPs.
Strengthened early‑stage support ecosystems to improve investment readiness.
Looking ahead, GreenCape has mobilised support for Phase II of the GOF, to be launched in mid‑2026. Among other improvements, it plans to expand future criteria to include temporary, indirect and informal jobs and reward these outcomes through payments, thereby capturing the full employment impact of MSMEs.
On the other hand, expanding social protection programmes in a more targeted and responsive way is essential. Where some community members cannot be trained or effectively integrated into new economic activities, whether due to age, health conditions, low education levels, or a lack of suitable opportunities, this reality needs to be explicitly recognised.
International experience with coal region transitions shows that not every worker or resident can be reskilled (GIZ, 2024[16]). In such cases, community‑level investment matters just as much as individual retraining. Public investment can usefully focus on improving collective well‑being through upgraded health services, better schooling, transport infrastructure and safe public spaces, ensuring that quality of life improves even in the absence of immediate job creation.
In this regard, a long‑term vision is essential to ensure that local efforts are connected to broader regional and national initiatives. The impacts of interventions often take several years to materialise, which makes it important not to lose sight of the bigger picture, long‑term objectives and expected outcomes (PCC, 2022[17]). The growing emphasis on co‑creating solutions with communities is a positive step in this direction, as it helps strengthen local ownership and increases the likelihood that initiatives will be sustained over time. However, many programmes and initiatives continue to operate under pressure to deliver short‑term, tangible results, which can limit their ability to prioritise deeper, structural change. Balancing short‑term delivery with long‑term structural changes is therefore key to remain both responsive and viable over time.
The second phase of the Green Outcomes Fund or similar models could provide an opportunity to more explicitly support job creation through targeted reskilling and upskilling of workers affected by the coal transition (Box 3.2). Stakeholder consultations highlighted significant gaps in forward planning to anticipate job losses resulting from the planned closure of coal‑fired power stations and coal mines (Annex B).
3.4.1. Skills potential and training needs in solar photovoltaic
Africa’s solar PV job landscape is shaped by a value chain where most employment is concentrated downstream in installation, distribution and operations, while upstream manufacturing remains limited (Figure 3.2). Although the continent holds significant mineral resources essential for PV production, its participation in energy‑intensive stages such as polysilicon, ingot, wafer and cell manufacturing is minimal, with global capacity concentrated in China. In 2021, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries hold almost 90% of global PV manufacturing jobs (IEA, 2022[18]). As a result, the strongest job growth today comes from the rapid expansion of distributed and utility‑scale solar markets, which drive demand for installers, technicians, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services and ongoing system maintenance across South Africa.
While the Western Cape already faces technical skills shortages as demand for small‑scale embedded generation has surged in response to load shedding (GreenCape, 2025[19]), Mpumalanga remains at a much earlier stage of skills deployment. In the Western Cape, rapid growth in rooftop solar has outpaced the availability of qualified electricians, PV installers and commissioning technicians, creating immediate labour constraints in an otherwise mature market. By contrast, Mpumalanga’s challenge is less one of saturation and more one of skills creation and transition, as demand for rooftop and small‑scale solar photovoltaic systems is expected to grow from a lower base alongside the province’s broader energy and economic transition. This presents an opportunity to proactively develop skills across the PV installation value chain before constraints emerge, drawing on Mpumalanga’s existing technical workforce.
Annual job creation forecast for solar photovoltaic, 2019-2030, Integrated Resource Plan 2019
Note: C&I: Commercial and industrial; EPC: Engineering, procurement and construction; FTE: full-time equivalent jobs; IPP: Independent Power Producer; SSEG: Small‑Scale Embedded Generation.
Source: (SAPVIA, 2021[20]).
Priority skills include basic and advanced electrical installation, safe mounting and roof work, system sizing and inverter configuration, battery integration, commissioning and compliance with grid and safety standards. As solar systems become more hybrid and decentralised, growing demand is also expected for operations, maintenance and troubleshooting skills that support longer‑term employment beyond initial installation phases. In addition, supervisory, project management and basic entrepreneurial skills will be required to enable local installers to formalise, scale and participate in procurement systems. Given Mpumalanga’s coal‑dependent profile, these competencies can be developed through modular training and recognition‑of‑prior‑learning pathways that repurpose existing electrical and mechanical skills, helping to avoid the bottlenecks observed in other provinces while anchoring new employment in locally delivered renewable energy solutions.
3.4.2. Expanding specialised certified technical training
Certified renewable energy training initiatives are expanding and partnerships such as the Sasol Foundation-RES4Africa Re‑skilling Lab are already preparing TVET colleges in Mpumalanga to deliver Solar PV installation and maintenance programmes, helping to build a pipeline of qualified local technicians (Box 3.3). There is an urgent need to scale up these pilot projects and integrate them into regular TVET programmes so that renewable energy skills development becomes a sustained part of the provincial training system rather than a series of isolated initiatives.
The current number of trained professionals remains insignificantly small relative to the magnitude of future skills requirements. Current graduate numbers fall well short of the national target set by the Department of Higher Education and Training, which aims to prepare approximately 7 000 graduates with JET–relevant skills by 2029-30, including engineering, hydrogen and other competencies, as well as digital skills (South Africa's Department of Higher Education & Training et al., 2023[2]).
Nkangala Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College has begun developing training activities in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Mpumalanga. In partnership with the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) and the RES4Africa Foundation, the College has incorporated modules on renewable energy, energy efficiency and entrepreneurship into its training offer, contributing to skills development efforts.
In 2023, an initial cohort of 25 electrical‑engineering learners were enrolled in an 18‑24‑month renewable energy training. The training package combines the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) Rooftop PV Installer curriculum with additional modules that strengthen both technical and business skills relevant to the renewable energy sector. TVET lecturers, who were previously upskilled through the Re‑skilling Lab, deliver the SAPVIA course, while industry specialists lead the business‑oriented components. This integrated model helps participants gain the capabilities required to start or expand solar PV businesses. In addition, the pilot training module included a six‑month internship for ten students with a renewable energy company within the RES4Africa network.
Nkangala TVET College is now equipped to issue formal certifications accredited by EWSETA, SAPVIA and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). Through this accredited training, learners gain industry‑recognised rooftop‑solar competencies and become eligible to apply for the GreenCard assessment, which provides formal recognition as rooftop PV installers.
Looking ahead, this training offer is well positioned for expansion and broader deployment. It could be readily replicated across additional TVET colleges in the province, particularly given that training‑of‑trainers sessions have already been completed for energy performance practitioners and solar PV rooftop installers. Moreover, in 2025 RES4Africa began supporting Nkangala TVET College in launching a new skills programme for hydrogen fuel‑cell system practitioners, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria (UP). As part of this initiative, ten lecturers from Nkangala will receive specialised training, enabling the College to act as UP’s implementing partner for delivering this programme in Mpumalanga.
Moreover, local consultations highlighted a persistent pipeline challenge in rooftop solar skills development: one grassroots training initiative in a township enrolled more than 200 young people, of whom about 40 secured work‑experience placements, yet only 2 ultimately transitioned into employment. This very low absorption rate illustrates a broader mismatch between training provision and real labour‑market demand as well as the lack of clear certification pathways and employer recognition of local skills training.
These challenges are even more pronounced in energy efficiency and other green sectors, where training provision remains fragmented or absent. For example, there are currently few programmes that integrate photovoltaic installation with agricultural management, despite clear potential at the intersection of energy and farming. Introducing agrivoltaics as a training focus could help address this gap by creating new, cross‑cutting skills pathways across Mpumalanga’s TVET and agricultural colleges. Short, modular courses linking renewable energy and agriculture would support the reskilling of workers affected by the coal phase‑out while building locally relevant capabilities for longer‑term green growth.
3.4.3. Developing green certification schemes
Accreditation under recognised industry and sector standards underpins quality assurance, employer confidence and the credibility of emerging green skills pathways, particularly for township‑based and informal training initiatives. Stakeholder consultations highlighted the need to strengthen and harmonise green certification schemes. While some certifications are already in place, they have clear limitations. For example, the SAPVIA PV GreenCard is widely recognised as an essential entry requirement for legally compliant rooftop solar installations. The PV GreenCard functions as an industry‑led quality assurance mechanism, verifying installer competency in system design, installation, commissioning and compliance with national and municipal regulations, and is increasingly required for insurance, finance and procurement purposes (PVGreenCard, 2026[24]). At the same time, stakeholders noted that the GreenCard is often insufficient for larger or more complex installations, including commercial‑scale rooftop systems and utility‑scale projects. The directory allows users to search for qualified solar PV installers. In Mpumalanga, only a dozen installers are listed, and just a small number show an established track record, with limited customer reviews reflecting the sector’s nascent stage. By contrast, more than 75 companies are registered in the Western Cape, providing potential customers with access to a much broader and more experienced installer base. For energy efficiency, a 2020 regulation made Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) mandatory for certain building types. Nonetheless, the South African National Accreditation System only includes one accredited inspection body for EPCs, and seven for broader monitoring and verification of energy savings, revealing severe shortage of certified energy auditors and inspection professionals.
Banks and financiers typically do not recognise certification alone as adequate proof of capability for MSMEs without a demonstrated track record of successfully delivered projects at scale (Annex D). As a result, small installers tend to remain confined to household‑level work and face barriers in accessing larger contracts, even when they are technically qualified. To address this gap, stakeholders suggested the introduction of a tiered certification framework that differentiates between levels of competency and experience, allowing installers to progressively demonstrate capability across installation sizes and system complexity.
Beyond rooftop solar, several other renewable energy and related sectors lack recognised certification frameworks, undermining safety, market access and MSME participation. In emerging areas such as battery storage, microgrids and hybrid energy systems, stakeholders consistently reported that training without certification is perceived as having little labour‑market value. Similar gaps exist in electric vehicle infrastructure, where the absence of recognised installer certification risks unsafe installations and limits MSME participation in public and corporate charging‑infrastructure rollout programmes. In the circular economy, e‑waste and recycling MSMEs often receive technical training but lack recognised certification, restricting access to municipal contracts, finance and extended producer responsibility value chains. At the intersection of energy and agriculture, there is currently no combined certification framework linking photovoltaic installation with agricultural management.
Developing nationally recognised and harmonised certification pathways for priority green sectors therefore emerges as a key policy priority. Building on existing PV certification models and embedding them within TVET and agricultural colleges, particularly in provinces such as Mpumalanga, would strengthen employer confidence, facilitate access to finance and procurement and help ensure that skills development translates into sustained employment.
South Africa has significant opportunities for job creation in renewable energy and related sectors, but these opportunities will not materialise automatically. While renewable energy deployment is expanding rapidly, employment outcomes critically depend on the availability of relevant skills, effective training pathways and strong alignment between education systems, labour‑market demand and local economic development.
Three key messages emerge. First, renewable energy job creation is unevenly distributed across regions and sectors. Provinces such as the Western Cape are already experiencing skills shortages linked to rapid growth in embedded generation, while Mpumalanga faces the dual challenge of managing coal job losses and building new skills ecosystems. Without proactive planning, reskilling and place‑based support, the transition risks deepening regional inequalities.
Second, current skills development pathways remain fragmented and insufficiently connected to real job opportunities. Expanding TVET, embedding sustainability and digital skills across curricula and strengthening work‑based learning and certification are essential to improve labour‑market absorption. Industry‑recognised certification plays a critical role in translating training into employment.
Third, reskilling and upskilling coal‑affected workers will require targeted, long‑term strategies that go beyond short‑term training programmes. While many coal‑sector skills are transferable, not all workers can be absorbed into renewable energy jobs. Complementary investments in economic diversification and social protection at community level are therefore required.
Overall, building a future‑ready workforce will depend on coherent, place‑based skills strategies that anticipate labour‑market change, align training with emerging value chains and integrate skills development into broader economic development policies.
Improving co-ordination and developing a more agile and consistent skills ecosystem
Ensure that the national co-ordination tools (JET Skills Desk and JET Skills Advisory Forum) become fully functional and effectively co‑ordinate skills planning across sectors, with clear mandates, stable funding and strong engagement from industry, SETAs and local government.
Pursue efforts led by NBI to develop localised skills mapping to better understand current and future needs and disseminate these findings to strengthen local economic planning.
Develop harmonised industry-led, nationally recognised certification standards for green skills across TVET institutions to ensure transferability and recognition by employers.
Expanding and scaling up TVET and other training programmes
Conduct a comprehensive assessment of existing TVET programmes to capture lessons learned, update curricula and integrate sustainability considerations across all modules.
Use skills gap mapping and local skills audits to design targeted training interventions in structurally weak and coal‑dependent areas, with the support of South African Local Government Association (SALGA), local authorities and partners.
Align all training programmes with local economic needs, ensuring that TVET offerings respond directly to identified labour‑market opportunities, including emerging green value chains.
Scale up TVET delivery capacity through strengthened partnerships with local colleges, accredited training providers and mobile training units to reach remote communities.
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