The Art of the Possible: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow with Wind
Tackling unemployment and creating good, clean jobs is possible if we fully leverage our wind energy as a reliable renewable energy resource. However, Morongoa Ramaboa, from the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), says that it is important that we are both proactive and pragmatic if we are to address today’s unemployment crisis as well as tomorrow’s urgent energy needs for a sustainable future.
The big issue
The past decade has seen the number of people in long-term unemployment nearly double. As many as 8.2 million people are currently unemployed in South Africa. The rates are especially high among our youth and among Black people versus other population groups.
In contrast, the renewable energy sector globally is creating a boom in green jobs. In 2022 alone, worldwide employment in the sector reached 13.7 million. That’s according to the 10th edition of ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2023’, by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
South Africa’s slice of the pie
Wind power has contributed over 46 000GWhs to the national supply.
The wind sector has created and established almost 23 000 job years in construction, operation and maintenance of wind farms. That number doesn’t include jobs in project development, finance, consulting and the plethora of other jobs that are critical to developing RE projects.
This is great progress, with much work undertaken to create these jobs. There is, however, definitely room for more and we need to ensure that there is a consistent implementation of wind projects to maintain and grow these job numbers.
South Africa’s power sector could create 145,000 nett jobs by 2050 if we fully commit to rapid decarbonisation and realising our transition goals.
Strategic and targeted
We need to approach building a wind force in a strategic manner, leveraging the continued investment in wind, and renewables in general, to fully realise a just and inclusive energy transition.
Government, industry and educational institutions have begun the work and have laid some strong foundations through the Just Energy Transition (JET) skills development zones as well as the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
We need to build on these initiatives with specific policies that will ensure we create a workforce that is ready and able to tackle climate change and ensure sustainable development.
Diverse and inclusive
SAWEA is taking the lead with targeted initiatives that aren't just about job-creation. The Association is taking a holistic approach, with initiatives that will support the creation of an inclusive, diverse and sustainable wind sector.
Initiatives like SAWEA’s Management Development Programme for Women in Renewable Energy are designed to accelerate the growth of senior female leadership within the sector.
Given the critical issue of youth unemployment, it is vital that any strategies directly focus on this group, increasing skills development so that South Africa’s youth can fully participate in the green economy.
SAWEA's Wind Industry Internship Program is addressing this gap, providing recent graduates and those in graduate programmes with practical work experience aligned with their studies and interests in sustainable energy solutions. The long-term goal is to address skills shortages in the South African energy sector by significantly boosting the renewable energy skills base.
A sustainable wind-force
The questions we need to ask are:
• How do we go about making the step changes required to build a wind-force fit for the future?
• What are the strategic collaborations required?
• What further investment in education and training programmes are needed?
• Which tools do we need to equip the next generation to drive the just energy transition?
• What are the policies and procedures that will bring all this from vision to reality?
At the upcoming Windaba Conference & Exhibition, Titania Stefanus-Zincke, COO of Mainstream Renewable Power, will be moderating the ‘Building a Sustainable Wind-force’ breakaway session.
The session will highlight the next steps in clarifying and mapping out career paths to ensure sustainable pathways to entering and progressing in the sector.
With insights from Abigail Khuluse, Programme Manager: Economic Inclusion, NBI; Zelrese Brair, Head of People and Culture, Nordex Energy South Africa; Mpho Mookapele, CEO of EWSETA; and Devan Pillay, Executive Manager: Institutional Support, PCC, this is a session sure to be an informative and insightful session that is not to be missed.
This is just one of the breakaway and plenary sessions that will take place over the three-day conference and exhibition. Taking place from 1 to 3 October 2024 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Windaba will be hosted by SAWEA.
Windaba 2024 serves as a vital platform for industry leaders, policymakers, investors and innovators to come together and chart a course towards a low-carbon future powered by wind energy.
For more information and to register for Windaba 2024, please visit the conference website https://www.windaba.co.za/.
To register for the exhibition, go to https://sawea.glueup.com/event/101767/register/ and to view the programme, visit https://www.windaba.co.za/2024-programme/ .
