UPSKILLING IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR FOR A PEOPLE-CENTRED AND SKILLS BASED ENERGY TRANSITION
INTRODUCTION
According to the Green Cape 2023 Energy Services Market Intelligence Report, which was published on May 4, 2023, consumers are being prompted to investigate alternative energy options by rising electricity prices, energy insecurity, falling technology costs, enabling energy policies, and policy-related incentives.[i] This is not only driving up demand for energy services in South Africa but also fostering a thriving value chain.[ii]
Nevertheless, lack of skills is a major barrier preventing additional investment in energy services prospects.[iii]
ENERGY SKILLS AND SERVICES
The transition to a greener economy is generating chances for new investments, jobs, and technologies.[iv] Decarbonization and ongoing energy transitions are expected to result in significant employment changes, including a flood of brand-new opportunities in the clean energy sector.[v] At the same time, employment possibilities in traditional energy sectors will decrease.[vi] In most situations, this will necessitate the creation of new educational, certification, and vocational training programs, in addition to focused upskilling or reskilling initiatives for the current workforce.[vii]
Transitions to greener economies can be facilitated and such new possibilities can ensure that a larger portion of society benefits by identifying and supplying the appropriate skills for both new and current occupations.[viii] Numerous nations have previously highlighted the lack of green-collar workers with cutting-edge expertise in energy efficiency, green engineering, and green building as a significant barrier to executing national goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or address environmental problems.[ix]
To face the challenges of the workforce transformation, a number of governments, businesses, and industry organizations, among other stakeholders, are already implementing strong educational and skills training programs.[x] Hence, an assessment of current training and skills-development programs might offer insightful advice to those starting their own energy shifts.[xi]
A 2020 IRENA analysis confirms a sustained rise in employment prospects in the solar energy sub-sector, which now accounts for the majority of renewable energy jobs.[xii] To complete duties in the solar occupation value chain (production, construction and installation, operation, and maintenance), these professions require a larger workforce with technical level skills.[xiii]
A smooth transition to a low-carbon economy depends in a large part on the retraining of workers in the fossil fuel industries and the training of young people entering the workforce.[xiv] There is a major risk that the renewable energy sector may face a scarcity of workers in more general jobs like sales specialists, inspectors, and auditors and in technical occupations like solar installations, if adequate quality and effective training programs are not offered.[xv] Governments and renewable energy companies should incorporate a skills component into their strategies when deploying renewable energy capacity.[xvi]
There is a demand for experts in the technical facets of various renewable technologies (solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, and hydropower).[xvii] A significant shortage of skilled design engineers (civil, mechanical, and electrical) with expertise in specific renewable energy technologies is also a current issue.[xviii] Electrical, computer, and mechanical engineers are in high demand in the wind energy industry. Sales professionals, inspectors, auditors, lawyers, and those in the legal or financial sectors frequently lack the specialized knowledge required for the advancement of renewable energy sources.[xix] Knowledge of renewable energy technologies and their social and economic benefits, international, national, regional, and local environmental policies and regulations, specific actions taken by governments and other actors to finance projects and initiatives, and other topics are all areas where there is a shortage of certain skills.[xx] When market prospects arise for the adoption of renewable energy, managers and professionals from various sub-sectors must demonstrate dynamism, leadership, negotiation, and strategic abilities.[xxi]
Thus, as the renewable energy sector expands, there is a concurrent demand for skills and services from the labour force which are currently inefficient or lacking to a good degree.[xxii] Awareness must be raised for such increased demand in renewable energy skills and services.
CONSIDERATIONS
The majority of the skills response to the needs of the renewable energy sector focuses on delivering specialized and cross-disciplinary skills, either through initial education and training courses and apprenticeships that are specifically focused on renewable energy, or through supplemental education and training in renewable energy to build on existing skills. Either way, upskilling and capacity building for employment in the renewable energy sector is the way forward to create and revamp the required skills through[xxiii]:
· Specialist Technician and Craft Courses: Initial education and training programs geared towards technicians and skilled craftspeople should be a crucial component of national efforts to meet the demand for skilled labour in the wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy industries.
· Specialist University Courses: The foundation for professional level work in renewable energy is provided by existing university courses in electrical, civil, mechanical, environmental, biosciences, agriculture, and forestry, law, business, information technology, the social sciences, and a variety of other fields.
To better fulfil the demands of the renewable energy business, several universities should modify some of their initial education course offerings and develop new renewable energy courses. This will increase an awareness of the skills and services needed in renewable energy.
· Continuing Education and Training: In the field of renewable energy, ongoing education and training are crucial. There can be many different types of providers, including private training companies, universities, colleges, industrial groups, trade unions, and suppliers of technologies for renewable energy. In both technical and non-technical occupations, it is crucial to keep learning and developing.
· Promotion of international linkages in renewable energy qualifications: Renewable energy technology, to a large extent, in its skills requirements, are comparable across different countries. It is meaningful to create worldwide links between renewable energy credentials because of this homogeneity. Employers can comprehend the content, level, and quality of a qualification from an employee or nation they are unfamiliar with, due to a presence of international links in qualifications. It is an effective tool to promote good practices in the delivery of education and training on a global scale. It enables organizations that are already skilled at delivering instructions and training in renewable energy to pick up knowledge from their colleagues and counterparts.
· Targeted Policies & Programmes for Inclusivity[xxiv]: The diversity of the energy workforce must be considered in the policy and program design for workforce training and skills development, if energy transitions are to really be people centered. Particularly, there is a significant underrepresentation of women in the energy workforce. Energy plans and policies can take these factors into account and add provisions that will reduce underrepresentation of the female workforce.
CONCLUSION
The shift from conventional to renewable energy sources alters not only the profile of skills in the energy sector but also the organizational structure of the workforce. There is a risk that renewable energy may require skills that are lacking in the society. Hence, while drafting regulations and establishing renewable energy start-ups, employers and policymakers supporting the transition to renewable energy must consider capacity building, expertise, technical know-how, and upskilling.
[i] Theresa Smith, Need for energy services growing faster than skills capacity available (ESI Africa 4 May 2023) < https://www.esi-africa.com/business-and-markets/need-for-energy-services-growing-faster-than-skills-capacity-availability/ > accessed 5 May 2023.
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Ibid
[iv] ILO, Skills and Occupational Needs in Renewable Energy. Available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_166823.pdf
[v] IEA, Skills Development and Inclusivity for Clean Transition. Available at https://www.iea.org/reports/skills-development-and-inclusivity-for-clean-energy-transitions
[vi] Ibid
[vii] Ibid
[viii] ILO, Skills and Occupational Needs in Renewable Energy. Available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_166823.pdf
[ix] Ibid
[x] IEA, Skills Development and Inclusivity for Clean Transition. Available at https://www.iea.org/reports/skills-development-and-inclusivity-for-clean-energy-transitions
[xi] Ibid
[xii] UNEVOC, Skills Development for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Jobs. Available at https://unevoc.unesco.org/pub/solar_energy_demands-discussion_paper1.pdf
[xiii] Ibid
[xiv] Ibid
[xv] Ibid
[xvi] ILO, Skills and Occupational Needs in Renewable Energy. Available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_166823.pdf
[xvii] UNEVOC, Skills Development for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Jobs. Available at https://unevoc.unesco.org/pub/solar_energy_demands-discussion_paper1.pdf
[xviii] Ibid
[xix] Ibid
[xx] ILO, Skills and Occupational Needs in Renewable Energy. Available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_166823.pdf
[xxi] Ibid
[xxii] Ibid
[xxiii] Ibid
[xxiv] IEA, Skills Development and Inclusivity for Clean Transition. Available at https://www.iea.org/reports/skills-development-and-inclusivity-for-clean-energy-transitions