The exponential growth of South Africa’s wind sector in response to the need for a stable and sustainable energy grid, brings with it an urgency to focus on the development of specialist skills. According to the REIPPPP’s ‘Focus on Wind’ published in December 2021, the numerous wind farms situated in the country will collectively add 38 GWh to the grid.

The EWSETA’s strategic goal to partner with industry stakeholders has gained extensive momentum, and a partnership agreement signed with the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) is already bearing fruit.

Commenting on the value of sector stakeholder partnerships, EWSETA CEO, Mpho Mookapele, says: “Partnerships serve as mutually empowering relationships and focus on mutual growth, organisational and sector development and above all, on achieving impact.”

EWSETA understands that programmes implemented in partnership with industry stakeholders will not only increase the collective knowledge, skills, reach, and experience applied to an initiative, but are likely to be better at encouraging and enabling the real participation and investment of employers and learners.

“It is key for the wind industry to partner with the EWSETA to ensure alignment between industry needs and the planned educational and training objectives,” comments Niveshen Govender, CEO for SAWEA. “Ensuring skills development in line with industry requirements creates better opportunities for employment, which is the ultimate goal and SAWEA intends to strengthen this partnership over time to address critical skills, as well as skills gaps in the wind sector to achieve more and lasting impact.”

An application for discretionary grant funding by SAWEA resulted in a cohort of 13 learners being placed within the wind industry around the country to gain much-needed experience in and exposure to the sector. A second cohort comprising 35 learners will be placed in 2023.

According to Govender, the Wind Industry Internship Programme (WIIP) has provided key learnings to better match employers needs with employee capabilities and employers continue to support graduates in entry level roles to offer mentorship and industry experience. “Identifying the gaps allows us to build better programmes to upskill graduates thereby creating sustainable employment,” affirms Govender.

“As a collective we can make a tangible impact on the country’s fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality and the EWSETA will continue to drive strategic partnerships where optimal impact can be realised,” concludes Mookapele.

Click here to link to the infographic that accompanied this article in the Engineering News on 7 October 2022.

https://ewseta.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Wind-Sector-Infographic.pdf