In the area of skills development, two major challenges have been identified. The first is the economic recession that was further exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. The South African economy decreased by 7% from 2019 to 2020. About 43.8% of South Africans aged 25-34 are without a job whereas it is at 66.5% in the range of the 15-24 year old. The second main challenge is the transition from a largely coal based energy supply to a CO2-neutral economy. This shift will have huge implications for employment and skills needs in the labour market. This will not only have implications for the coal based industries but also many other sectors.

The program will support South Africa in its employment promotion efforts as well as the strategic national objectives towards an increasingly decarbonised economy. The government, the employers and employees in South Africa will benefit from an enhanced quality training system matching the demand for skills, including in the areas of a decarbonised economy, which will in turn lead to reduced unemployment rates.

The employment prospects of young South Africans have improved in a sustainable and increasingly decarbonised economy. The successful implementation will be measured by participants in employment promotion measures (of which 60% women) stating that their employment situation has improved 6 months after the end of the measure (new employment, self-employment, improving income of working conditions in existing job). Furthermore, the program will support the creation of 240 jobs in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups as well as by surveying companies on professional skills taught for an increasingly decarbonised economy. The program will provide learning experiences of 3 pilot projects promoting employment under the just transition to the government for further use.

Risultati principali attesi:  

Output 1 (innovation and learning): The development and implementation capacities of public, private and civil society institutions in South Africa are strengthened towards new approaches to promoting employment in a sustainable, increasingly decarbonised economy.

Output 2 (demand side): The support offer for South African micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in selected business locations is improved.

Output 3 (supply side): The technical and personnel capacities of training providers for the development and implementation of qualification measures in the field of decarbonised economy are strengthened.

Output 4 (matching supply and demand): The offer of South African institutions for support measures to improve employability for young South Africans is expanded.

Risultati fasi precedenti:  

The quality of vocational education and training could be improved, mainly the cooperation between the public and the private sector with regard to the development, implementation and dissemination of labour market oriented cooperative training and qualification (through cooperation with 8 associations). For 13 occupations, dual training courses were developed and with 200 training companies piloted at 24 centres of specialization with 1683 trainees. The qualifications of 267 teachers in dual trainings were enhanced. Furthermore, dual short qualification courses were provided in the frame of the township based installation, repair and maintenance program. This has shown that such innovative approaches can open up training and job opportunities in companies, especially in the township economy. South African intermediaries were engaged to bring students from learning to earning with 350 youth and 120 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the pilot.