South Africa's Green Energy Skills Crisis: Why Experience Matters More Than Training

Yershen Pillay, Chief Executive Officer of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority, puts it plainly: South Africa does not have a skills gap so much as an experience gap. That distinction is driving a R4 million investment by CHIETA into advanced research and skills development at the University of the Witwatersrand, announced in Johannesburg in July 2026.

The partnership centres on Wits Business School’s African Energy Leadership Centre and will fund doctoral and post-doctoral researchers working in Green Hydrogen. It also includes a specialised short course for 20 participants drawn from chemical sector small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and startups. Wits currently ranks first in Africa according to the 2026 Center for World University Rankings, lending the collaboration considerable weight as South Africa tries to build a green energy workforce from the ground up.

The numbers behind that effort are stark. South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap targets 500,000 tonnes of Green Hydrogen produced annually by 2030, with major electrolysis capacity planned for the Northern Cape. Reaching those targets requires researchers, process specialists and technical professionals the country has not yet developed. Without that talent pipeline, even well-funded infrastructure risks stalling before it delivers.

Pillay’s vision for what education should do in a transitioning economy goes beyond filling vacancies. “We need a workforce that is multi-skilled, adaptable and able to continuously upskill as industries evolve,” he said. “Qualifications should do more than certify people. They should equip them to think differently, innovate and create opportunities for themselves and others.” That means embedding digital transformation, data analytics and artificial intelligence alongside traditional technical knowledge, and shifting the emphasis from job-seeking to job-creation.

Dr Steven Mathetsa, Senior Lecturer at the African Energy Leadership Centre, is equally direct about what makes this kind of collaboration necessary. “Meaningful partnerships between academia, industry and government are essential if South Africa is to unlock the full potential of the energy transition,” Mathetsa said. Green Hydrogen matters strategically because it can decarbonise sectors like transport and agriculture, where cutting emissions has proven particularly difficult. Technology, though, cannot succeed without the surrounding ecosystem of skilled people, research capacity and policy frameworks.

By contrast with earlier CHIETA initiatives focused on practical training, the Wits partnership moves into advanced research and postgraduate leadership development. CHIETA has previously backed a Green Hydrogen Centre of Specialisation with the Mining Qualifications Authority and the Transport Education Training Authority, and supported an industry-integrated Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Training System at Sasol’s Sasolburg operations. The new collaboration builds on that foundation at a higher level.

The partnership also carries a regional ambition. Positioning South Africa as a leader in Green Hydrogen research is intended to strengthen knowledge sharing and skills development across Africa and the BRICS bloc, opening pathways for emerging researchers and entrepreneurs to take on continental roles in the clean energy transition, not only domestic ones.

Green Hydrogen remains one of the most promising clean energy pathways available, with potential to reduce emissions across multiple sectors. Whether South Africa can actually deliver on its 2030 commitments may depend less on the technology itself than on whether the people trained through initiatives like this one are ready in time. More information about the initiative is available at https://novuspressbulletin.co.za/blog/chieta-invests-r4-million-with-wits-to-build-south-africa-s-green-hydrogen-workforce.