Promoting employment in an increasingly green economy

Context

South Africa has been in an economic recession for years. This situation has been exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had particularly dramatic ramifications for youth unemployment. Finding themselves cut off from education, training and other opportunities to learn, more and more discouraged young people are turning their backs on the job market.

Meanwhile, the effort to transform South Africa's largely coal-based energy supply system into a carbon-neutral economy is presenting another challenge. This far-reaching economic and technological restructuring will also have a significant impact on employment and the qualifications needed on the labour market.

Objective

To help ensure a just transition, the employment prospects of young South Africans in a sustainable and increasingly climate-friendly economy are improved.

Approach

This project is working with the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and other relevant interest groups and implementation partners, such as the National Business Initiative (NBI). In doing so, it is following an integrated approach to promoting employment and helping ensure a just transition by:

1. Promoting the supply side in the job market and further developing needs-oriented vocational training to make it easier for young South Africans to find work
2. Supporting the demand side so that start-up entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises can continue developing and create jobs in the process
3. Expanding the available support services to include gender-sensitive assistance that helps girls and young women in particular to enter the job market and earn a livelihood
4. Enhancing the development and implementation capacities of South African officials in order to support new approaches to promoting employment. To that end, the project is developing and testing innovative approaches to supporting the role of the education system in the impending energy transition.

This project is being co-financed by the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO).

Last update: September 2025