Highlighting Skills Development and TVET for South Africa’s Just Transition
Between 10-12 May 2023, the Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) at the University of the Witwatersrand together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), hosted an International Research Conference on Skill Formation, Industrial Transformation, and Job Creation for Sustainable, Just and Inclusive Economies in Johannesburg.
The conference was attended by the Programme Manager for CPD4E, Kirsten Freimann together with the Component Manager for Career Path Development for Employment project (CPD4E), Gerda Magnus to present the paper titled “Skills for a Just Transition to a Green Future: Measuring the South African TVET System and providing input to support its development.” It was inspired by the discussion paper published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on “Skills for a Just Transition to a Green Future” which explores the implications for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in creating a workforce that will be able to address not only the labour market needs for the Green Economy, but also the socio-economic dimensions of this transformation process (“Just Transition”).
The GIZ discussion paper motivated the authors, Freimann, and Magnus to evaluate the South African context against the outlined discussion, to provide key areas of intervention required by the South African TVET system and to provide guidance for development cooperation support.
Therefore, GIZ South Africa, through the Career Path Development for Employment project (CPD4E)[1], developed this paper focusing on employability and TVET-related matters as defined in the integrated employment promotion approach of German Development Cooperation and connects it to the Just Transition context. The analysis unpacks policy coherence, employment opportunities as well as TVET and skills development in South Africa in the process of a green economy.
Examples of the CPD4E project illustrate how the integrated approach connected to Just Transition serves as the guiding principle of the project set-up and implementation. For example, the Institute of Energy Professionals Africa (IEPA) trains unemployed youths as energy performance practitioners. Through mentored working on real-life assignments and the combination with work placements, the learners acquire skills in high demand in the labour market which are very relevant for an increasingly decarbonising economy. In addition, Small Micro and Medium-sized (SMME) companies and entrepreneurs are being supported in relevant sectors, e.g. installation, repair and maintenance in cooperation with the National Business Initiative (NBI) to unlock income opportunities while hubs located at TVET colleges close to industrial zones support the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The paper presented by Freimann and Magnus during the conference was well received. The presentation sparked a discussion leading to questions on where priorities can be set for the joint effort to facilitate an effective Just Transition process, and the role skills development and TVET need to play in this process.
Freimann and Magnus highlighted that prioritizing job creation and supporting workers through Just Transition is crucial to ensure that the shift towards a green economy is carried out in a fair and inclusive way. Employment can be promoted by using an integrated and multi-dimensional approach. This comprehensive approach is taking into consideration the complexity of employment promotion and therefore is focusing on the supply and demand sides of the labour market as well as labour market policies and instruments to achieve sustainable employment and income effects by coordinating all relevant intervention areas.
In conclusion, “with concerted effort, the TVET system should play a central role in a Just Transition process which strongly requires a labour force, with relevant skills and up-to-date knowledge in rapidly evolving sectors. The TVET system should adjust and respond to this critical challenge to ensure that jobseekers and workers are equipped with the skills to stay competitive and adapt to a changing job market”, said Gerda Magnus and Kirsten Freimann.
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[1] A project financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)