JET Skills Development Programme

African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP)

presents the AWEaP Just Energy Transition (JET) Skills Development Programme.

About the

AWEaP has designed a Just Energy Transition Skills Development Programme. This skills development programme targets women in the power and energy sector.

The programme will empower women leaders, managers and operators with information that will enable them to create, drive and execute local just energy transition strategies and initiatives. In this way, it will stimulate micro-economies and provide access to the market for companies owned and led by women, youth and persons with disability.

Municipal electricity utilities will play a pivotal role in enabling South Africa’s just energy programme. Therefore, the first phase of the programme is targeted at municipal officials and electricity utility officials in South Africa.

Background of South Africa’s

Just Energy Transition Partnership

The monumental Just Energy Transition Partnership agreement signed at COP26 between South Africa and the West renewed energy and commitment for South Africa’s move towards decarbonisation. The agreement will effect a move toward a domestic overhaul of the energy system – moving South Africa to green energy generation systems. Climate change remains a prominent challenge across the globe and South Africa’s biggest contributor to emissions remains the 90% coal-powered electricity generation system.

As it stands, the legacy fossil fuel-dominated energy system is monopolised, preventing many stakeholders from participating in energy economic activities. Additionally, investment resources are required to enable an equitable energy transition, one that truly benefits people and protects our environment. The energy transition, when well-managed, will create a participatory renewable energy system.

At the heart of the transition to renewable energy is ensuring that it is JUST – that it not only allows South Africa to reduce carbon emissions but also creates jobs and ensures energy security for the country. This includes creating new streams of income for residents of communities affected by the changeover from fossil fuels and aiding the creation of related green jobs.

Programme

Partners

AWEaP formed the following partnerships to enable a successful delivery of the programme:

Funding

PARTNER:

Power Africa will fully fund the tuition for 40 delegates consisting of municipal women leaders, managers and operators. Of this cohort, 30 will come from Mpumalanga and 10 from various municipalities around the country.

Power Africa is a U.S. Government-led partnership that harnesses the collective resources of over 170 public and private sector partners to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Power Africa’s goal is to add at least 30,000 megawatts (MW) of cleaner and more reliable electricity generation capacity and 60 million connections by 2030.

PARTNER:

AWEaP signed an MOU Wits Business School African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC).

The centre will deliver the academic element of the programme.

The Centre was conceptualised by industry visionaries who saw the need to respond to the shortage of skills in a sector undergoing rapid disruption. While it is known that Africa has vast, untapped energy potential, and some of the fastest economic growth rates in the world, its further development is constrained by a lack of energy supply, with brownouts and blackouts regularly strangling productivity in even its most developed economies.

The Center will work with AWEaP to deliver and evolve the academic programme to meet South Africa and Africa’s Just Energy Transition Skills Development needs.

PARTNERS:

Several other industry heavyweights have shown great confidence in the merits of the JET Skills Development Programme and have become endorsing partners.