Having recently been awarded a US$1 million grant by the African Development Bank, the National Business Initiative’s JET SEP programme is set to advance inclusive green skills in South Africa – with a focus on youth.

Words Shameela Soobramoney

BUILDING SKILLS for a Just Energy Future

On the outskirts of Johannesburg, a group of young trainees gather at a public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college workshop. Their task: learning how to install and maintain solar PV systems. For many, this is more than technical training; it is a lifeline. In a country where nearly half (46.1%) of young people are unemployed, mastering green skills is a passport to the future.

This is the vision behind the Just Energy Transition Skilling for Employment Programme (JET SEP), an
ambitious initiative led by the National Business Initiative (NBI) and supported by the Presidency’s Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit (PMU), African Climate Foundation (ACF) and African Development Bank (AfDB). With a US$1 million grant from AfDB’s Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), JET SEP is building the foundations for a stronger and agile skills ecosystem – one that prepares South Africans for a low-carbon economy built on renewable energy, green hydrogen and new energy mobility that can drive employment and inclusive growth.

FROM CRISIS TO POSSIBILITY

Youth unemployment in South Africa is not just a statistic; it is a structural fault line undermining social cohesion and economic stability. In the second quarter of 2025, the total number of unemployed youth increased by 39 000 to 4.9 million compared with the first quarter of 2025. At the same time, the country is under immense pressure to decarbonise its economy, phase out coal and unlock new and diverse sources of growth.

The question is stark: can South Africa turn the necessity of a low-carbon transition into an engine of inclusive development? JET SEP’s answer is yes, but only if the right skills are in place, at the right time and in the right regions.

The programme focuses on three fast-growing value chains:

  • Renewable energy and transmission
  • Green hydrogen
  • New energy vehicles These are not distant prospects. Global markets are already shifting focus in this direction, and South Africa must decide whether it will be a consumer of imported solutions or a creator of homegrown industries.

REIMAGINING THE SKILLS ECOSYSTEM

A key objective of JET SEP is to stimulate coordination and optimal use of resources in the skills ecosystem. While South Africa invests significantly in skills development, weak planning tools and inefficiencies in the skills ecosystem limit the scope of impact on levels of unemployment.

JET SEP introduces key strategic interventions that can leverage off the energy transition to create immediate and scalable skilling, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people within the green economy. It simultaneously works in partnership with government and private sector stakeholders to understand and address planning and resourcing barriers in the skills ecosystem that inhibit these opportunities from being accessed and realised.

BARRIERS WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE

South Africa’s vocational system has long faced underinvestment and misalignment. Many TVET colleges lack modern equipment and strong industry ties, leaving graduates ill-prepared for green economy jobs. Women and youth in rural and marginalised areas remain disproportionately excluded from technical fields. Unless inclusion is built into every stage, from recruitment to placement, the programme could replicate rather than redress existing inequalities.

JET SEP addresses this by:

  • Building strong place-based skills ecosystem partnerships to holistically identify and unlock local economic opportunities and respond in an integrated and coordinated manner;
  • Embedding private sector input into curriculum design and deliveries so that programmes align to industry demand and entrepreneurial opportunities; and
  • Supporting women-led SMMEs and local suppliers, recognising that inclusion and localisation are economic imperatives, not add-ons.

This focus on structural reform, rather than short-term training drives, distinguishes JET SEP from past initiatives. It builds industry and entrepreneurship into the design stage so that skills translate directly into livelihoods.

LESSONS FROM ELSEWHERE

South Africa is not alone in this journey. India, for example, has invested heavily in skilling for its renewable energy sector, but has struggled with placing graduates in jobs because industry demand was over-estimated. African countries run the same risk of over-investing in renewable energy training capability with the belief that the renewable energy sector will create many jobs, rather than understanding the catalytic potential of renewable energy for broader employment creation and entrepreneurship, such as sustainable agriculture, waste management, circular economy and green construction. The lesson is clear: success depends on tight coordination between government, business and training institutions, with constant recalibration to match labour market realities. JET SEP’s design, aligning with the Presidency’s JET Implementation Plan and backed by private sector champions, positions South Africa to avoid any possible pitfalls.

METRICS THAT MATTER

For JET SEP to deliver, clear and measurable goals are essential. Early targets include:

  • Training a first cohort of several hundred youth by 2026, with at least 40% women’s participation; and
  • Ensuring a minimum of 70% placement rate into jobs or entrepreneurial ventures within six months of completion.

RESILIENCE THROUGH GREEN JOBS

The programme’s relevance is underscored by South Africa’s power crisis. Over the past decade, renewable energy investments have added 5–6GW of capacity to the grid, but far more is needed to end load shedding and meet national climate targets. The same is true for electric mobility and green hydrogen, both of which could anchor new industries if supported by skilled workforces.

This is not simply about job creation. It is about reshaping our economy to be both sustainable and inclusive. The energy transition can either entrench inequality or become South Africa’s most powerful engine of renewal and that choice depends on how we skill our people.

By equipping artisans, technicians and entrepreneurs for these roles, JET SEP ensures that the clean energy rollout is utilising locally built and maintained tools, anchoring economic benefits in South African communities.

A COORDINATED FUTURE

JET SEP is backed by 30+ CEO champions, reflecting strong business commitment. But its success will depend on sustaining collaboration across the public and private sectors. As Gugu McLaren-Ushewokunze, NBI’s Head of Economic Inclusion, emphasises: “The private sector plays a critical role in identifying opportunities. Ensuring that skilling is demand-led means equipping young people with the right expertise at the right time. This is how we turn the energy transition into a driver of equity, not exclusion.”

In a world where climate action is often seen as a cost, the NBI’s Just Energy Transition Skilling for Employment Programme offers a different narrative: that decarbonisation, if done with foresight and equity, can become South Africa’s most powerful engine of job creation and social renewal.
www.nbi.org.za/jet-sep

Shameela Soobramoney is CEO of the National Business Initiative (NBI), an independent coalition of the local and multinational businesses focusing on taking action to achieve social and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance. Previously chief sustainability officer at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Shameela has, inter alia, been a key contributor to the JSE’s work into climate change, the potential for a local market to trade in carbon credits and environment-related products, the development of a Green, Social and Sustainability bonds framework, impact investing, and the JSE’s sustainability, innovation and CSI strategies. She has served as chair of the World Federation of Exchange’s (global) Sustainability Working Group, a member of the Strategy Group of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD), and chair of the Sustainable Finance Working Group of the National Treasury of South Africa. She is a non-executive director of the WWF (South Africa), and of Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). Shameela completed a Master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership (MSt) at the University of Cambridge and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Pretoria, Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).

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