South Africa’s energy transition is bringing a practical question into sharper focus: where will the people who build, connect and maintain new infrastructure learn their skills? An African Development Bank update published on October 26 sets out the next steps in a programme designed to connect technical training with demand in local communities.
The bank and the National Business Initiative presented progress at Johannesburg’s Green Livelihoods Summit on October 13. Their Just Energy Transition Skilling for Employment Programme, known as JET SEP, is supported by a US$1 million grant through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance.
Where the programme goes next
Among the announced tools is JET ATLAS, a dashboard intended to forecast workforce supply and demand at municipal level. The bank also lists planned Skills Development Zone launches in Nkangala on October 29, the Northern Cape on November 18 and the Eastern Cape in March 2027. These dates describe forthcoming programme milestones.
The bank’s account identifies demand in familiar occupations, including construction, electrical work, welding and technical maintenance. Its emphasis on certified technicians and grid engineers makes the practical challenge clear: expanding generating capacity also requires a workforce able to install and operate the equipment safely.
Connecting learning with work
NBI describes JET SEP as a way of coordinating private-sector preparation for the government’s skills implementation plan. Its published work examines how the Skills Development Zone model can fit Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape. Connecting training providers, employers and workplace learning is central to that approach.
The programme has an inclusion goal as well as an industrial one. The bank’s February 25 procurement notice identifies young people, women and workers in coal regions undergoing transition among its intended beneficiaries. It records a programme launched in 2024, showing that this month’s announcements are part of an existing effort moving towards implementation.
What prospective trainees should check
For a prospective trainee, the useful next questions are local: which provider will offer the course, what certification will it lead to, what will it cost and will workplace experience be included? The sources reviewed here announce programme design and milestones, rather than an individual training application or an employer vacancy. Any future intake should be checked against the named provider’s own requirements before paying or submitting documents.
