Opinion: Why a just transition is a talent transition

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Africa’s energy shift risks leaving workers behind as fossil fuel jobs disappear faster than new green roles emerge. George Asamani, MD for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Project Management Institute (PMI), argues that a just transition needs large-scale reskilling so fossil fuel workers can move into renewable energy projects. South Africa could be impacted the most.

• “A just transition must do both, protect those who stand to lose and prepare those who will build what comes next. This means designing policies that cushion affected workers through retraining, while simultaneously developing a pipeline of project talent to lead the rollout of renewable energy,” he writes.

• He warns that without reskilling, countries such as South Africa could face about 100,000 redundancies among coal workers. His firm, PMI, works with governments, industry and universities to strengthen project delivery skills across the region.

Opinion