The Chemical Industries Training and Education Authority (Chieta) will be registering new qualifications on green hydrogen and offering specialised skills programmes relevant to growing the green hydrogen economy.

“South Africans will get opportunities for specialised training that will equip them with skills for the changing world of work, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the rapidly growing hydrogen economy,” Chieta CE Yershen Pillay said at a Joint Chamber Meeting and the launch of the Research Colloquium Presentation, in Midrand, on March 4.

He said Chieta’s offering would include short hydrogen safety, storage and project management skills programmes.

In addition, existing qualifications will be augmented with specialised modules for training more gas, electrochemical and electrolysis engineers.

“Africa can establish itself as a key supplier of green hydrogen and its derivatives, with the specific export products directly linked to geographical locations and existing industries. For this to take place, as Chieta, we are ready to roll out the relevant skills required to ensure the country takes its place in driving the skills critical for the success of the green economy,” Pillay said.

He said that, while South Africa could produce and export green energy, there had been minimal movement until now on preparing individuals with the tools to take part in the sector.

Citing the heavy demand for digital skills, Pillay said the chemicals sector, as an example, would require experts in petroleum and base chemicals proficient as information security analysts, data analysts and scientists, digital transformation specialists, big data specialists, lab analysers/technologists, sample takers, plant operators and material handlers.

Therefore, the traditional roles of machine operator, quality assessor, quality inspector, and lab analyst could make way for new skills and competencies, resulting in possible redundancies in mostly manual labour jobs.

He believes that reskilling and preparing for jobs of the future through Chieta will be pivotal to ensuring people take up opportunities brought on by the transition.

Regarding the glass subsector as another example, Pillay forecasted new and emerging occupations, with roles for environmental specialists, process specialists, and e-learning developers, leaving inspection and package roles obsolete.

“Chieta's new initiatives on green hydrogen have positioned it as an innovation leader in green hydrogen, a reason behind the drive to push skills development”, Pillay said, adding that it was crucial for addressing environmental concerns and offered various economic, social, and competitive advantages.

To this end, Pillay said Chieta was implementing comprehensive strategies integrating skills development, green technology and rural development strategies to achieve sustainable growth. These strategies encouraged rural development, use of the potential of green hydrogen and implementation of blended learning initiatives.

“Chieta continues to support technological advancements and long-term growth in the chemicals sector through funding skills development initiatives. This year’s research colloquium aims to examine the role of innovation in driving economies and industries towards sustainable growth, which aligns with Chieta’s research and initiatives,” he added.

Pillay said Chieta’s research findings had revealed that there were mixed perceptions on the state of readiness for South Africa to adopt green hydrogen. Three significant concerns around the adoption of green hydrogen in South Africa regard the technology required, the skills needed and the economic viability of hydrogen as an energy source.

In unpacking emerging job opportunities that could become available in green hydrogen, Pillay provided a list of roles, including hydrogen fuel cell technicians, hydrogen power plant installation, operation and management, policy analysts, pipefitters, hydrogen sales and marketing consultants, hydrogen fuel transporters, hydrogen vehicle electricians, power system electricians, hydrogen storage specialists and hydrogen systems safety analysts, among others.

Pillay noted the export potential of hydrogen, saying there was key demand worldwide, hence the need to ensure that the skills pipeline was urgently strengthened.