Employability and Learning Pathways in the Green Economy

In separate initiatives to test new models for increasing employability and skills in the Green Economy, the J.P. Morgan Foundation, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, along with, the Nedbank Foundation, National Business Initiative (NBI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Institute of Plumbing South Africa, undertook interventions to leverage employment opportunities for young people and labour market mobility for those who were already working. This paper presents lessons from three of those interventions that can contribute towards developing a framework for entry and mobility within the Green Economy. Two of these programmes targeted unemployed youth, and one targeted employees in the plumbing sector, who did not have a formal sector-specific qualification. All three programmes used a combination of knowledge training and practical learning, with two of them offering a workplace learning component. Of the three programmes, the one without the workplace learning component showed the least desirable outcomes, with only 5 out of 25 being employed, according to a tracer study 6 months after the programme ended. Skills programmes that have a workplace learning component optimise the candidates readiness, and also the match between the candidates capacity, and occupational roles. It creates the opportunity for the industry itself to identify what skills are in demand. This kind of responsive and demand-driven training can enhance employability and entry into the labour market.