Energy education in South Africa, is not supplying specializations to support the growing renewable energy sector.
These are findings of a study collectively undertaken by the South African National Energy Association (SANEA) in partnership with the Wits Business School’s African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC), the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) and with the support of the South African BRICS Business Council. The project was funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The study titled “energy skills road map South Africa, 2030” also concluded there is an adequate supply of traditional energy “qualifications at the university level
(number of qualifications not the number of graduates).”
It will take the transformation of the curriculum, to drive the transition from fossil fuels to relatively cleaner forms of energy, according to Kelly Collins, Senior Director of Graduate & Alumni Career Services, at the Bauer College of Business Graduate School (BCBGS). She says about 60% of learners enrolled at the BCBGS, are looking for a career in energy. She was speaking at a session organized by the Graduate Schools Business Network (GBSN), as part of a series to share knowledge about the energy transition between the Global North and South.
Mpho Mookapele, Chief Executive Officer of the
Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), representing the Global South at the info session, emphasized the significance of local critical thinking to bridge systemic issues between Universities, TVET colleges and business schools.
The energy transition also requires a different type of leader, according to Diana Paez, Senior Director, of Energy & Mobility at the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan.
Characteristics of such a new leader are the ability to manage change, systems and to break silos.
Sherwat Ibrahim, Associate Professor of Operations Management & Chair at UN PRME Chapter Africa, at an American University in Cairo, said additional ways to change behaviour in institutions to enable an energy transition, will need to include awareness campaigns, more literacy programs and a deliberate focus on small businesses (SMMEs) to find localized solutions.
Picture: NEPAD