Accelerators for Green Skills in Solar PV Energy Transition
Accelerators for Green Skills in Solar PV Energy Transition
Future Africa and Nepoworx PPP supports development in critical sustainable energy arena.
Future Africa (at the University of Pretoria) and Nepoworx are pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on the 4 of May 2021 to develop science and skills on solar photovoltaic (PV). The objective of the programme is to upskill a total of 900 youth and women scholars and entrepreneurs over the next three (3) years ensuring participation in the green economy, and more importantly, forming part of the Just Energy Transition that is currently unfolding in South Africa.
“Greater access to solar energy in Africa means that initiatives at public institutions such as Future Africa partners with a private company such as Nepoworx to develop science and research skills, which also contribute to job creation, promote social-economic development and advances the establishment of higher energy equity through the support of the energy transition movement. The MoU signed with Nepoworx is a milestone towards robust engagement with like-minded enterprises for sustainable development pathways that build on Africa's best asset, which is renewable energy”, stated Professor Cheikh Mbow, Director for Future Africa at the University of Pretoria.
“The programme aligns with Nepoworx’s mission which seeks to develop green skills and transform the renewable energy in Africa by partnering and leveraging the skills and expertise from both the public and private sectors. Overall, we believe this initiative will be a game changer and we are looking forward to our partnership with Future Africa”, said Nonjabulo Sokhela, Chief Executive Officer of Nepoworx.
The green skills being developed will alleviate the triple challenges of the continent that are: unemployment, inequality, and energy supply. The programme will encompass a workplace component which is critical in ensuring that the participants gain the requisite hands-on experience needed to increase their chances of securing employment in the renewable energy sector. The promotion solar energy in Africa is a strong option for decarbonising the development of the continent.
Advancing the use of innovative solutuions based on solar energy will have economic, social, and environmental benefits. “The programme will unlock job opportunities in the renewable energy sector across the continent. It is important that we develop the local green skills necessary to contribute to the implementation of the ambitious renewable energy targets to support various policy frameworks such as the Paris Agreements and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”, said Nonjabulo Sokhela, Chief Executive Officer of Nepoworx.
Future Africa and Nepoworx are targeting several partners including financial institutions (commercial banks and multilateral Development Finance Institutions), renewable energy associations and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to ensure its successful implementation.
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About Nepoworx
Nepoworx is an accredited skills development and training institution in the Solar Photovoltaic (“PV”) sector. The company’s strategic objectives include making a meaningful contribution towards addressing skills gap challenges and specifically “Hard to Fill Vacancies” in the green economy. These objectives are fully aligned with various Sustainable Development Goal's (SDG's) which include SDG7 - affordable clean energy for all and SDG 8- decent work and economic growth, which all speak to building a prosperous African continent. Nepoworx has positioned itself to assist communities to form part of the Just Energy Transition road map currently unfolding on the continent. This is achieved through the company’s targeted skills development and training interventions coupled with energy focused enterprise development programmes.
About Future Africa
Future Africa is an initiative by the University of Pretoria to develop innovative transdisciplinary skills transfer programmes to address Africa's growth and development challenges and developing capacity for solution-based, interconnected and Pan-African research networks for innovation.Future Africa is a research institute with strong acumen on transdisciplinary science. The institute is purpose-built, promoting transdisciplinary research excellence, developing new approaches to research and innovation that span disciplinary fields and geo-political boundaries, fostering the development of research networks, partnerships and training. It aims to address complex societal challenges and to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s sustainable, inclusive and equitable development. From a Future Africa perspective, research specific transdisciplinarity integrates perspectives across academic disciplines, scales and sectors, understanding that linear thinking will not create the most effective solutions to global challenges.
The Future Africa Campus has become a vibrant collaborative space where Africa’s young and leading scientists, together with civil society and international scholars, leverage the benefits of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to address Africa’s most pressing problems. Future Africa is a Pan-African platform that supports innovative research projects from conceptualisation to execution by connecting people and ideas, developing research capacity and outcomes towards solutions that have impact. The Future Africa initiative fosters the aspirations of a new generation of science leaders in Africa and provides a link for them to research networks across the continent and the world.
