Workforce Transition in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition An Analysis of Needs, Policy Gaps and Socioeconomic Implications

Overview

This policy brief by Phemelo Tamasiga examines South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET), highlighting gaps in how the shift from coal to renewable energy affects employment, skill development, social protection, and regional equity. Coal jobs offer stability and benefits, but many new renewable positions are short-term, insecure, and lack worker protections. Coal-dependent regions like Mpumalanga are especially vulnerable due to skills mismatches and underinvestment. Key recommendations include implementing job guarantee schemes, expanding training and reskilling, improving social insurance, and ensuring meaningful community governance to make the transition socially just.

Key Recommendations

Here are the key recommendations from the policy brief on South Africa’s workforce transition:

• Introduce job guarantee schemes in affected regions to secure livelihoods during the transition.
• Expand training and reskilling programmes to match coal workers’ skills with emerging renewable energy opportunities.
• Strengthen social insurance systems to cover workers facing unemployment or precarious renewable jobs.
• Ensure community participation and governance so local voices influence transition planning and benefit sharing.
• Promote regional investment in coal-dependent areas like Mpumalanga to create diversified, sustainable employment beyond energy.

Publisher: Megatrends Afrika

Date: July 2025

Download here or follow this link: https://www.megatrends-afrika.de/assets/afrika/publications/policybrief/MTA_PolicyBrief_Tamasiga_Workforce_Transition_v2.pdf