The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) has welcomed the €2-million investment received from the EU to advance demand-driven skills development linked to South Africa’s critical minerals and battery economy.

As investment in critical minerals gathers pace in response to the global energy transition, South Africa’s ability to develop skilled, work-ready talent is becoming increasingly important to its industrial competitiveness, EWSETA says.

The funding, awarded under the EU Global Gateway Opportunity Driven Skills and Vocational Education and Training programme, supports a national initiative aimed at aligning vocational training with employment opportunities across the mining, beneficiation, processing and battery value chains.

The funding was awarded to research institution the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as the lead applicant and EWSETA as the co-applicant, alongside consortium partners Manganese Metal Company and Frontier Rare Earths, it adds.

EWSETA aims to drive quality-assured skills development interventions that are aligned to industry needs, it says.

In addition to infrastructure and capital investment, the just transition requires a coordinated skills system capable of equipping youth and communities with future-focused technical capabilities, expanding access to inclusive employment pathways, and ensuring that new green industries translate into sustainable economic participation, says EWSETA.

“South Africa’s participation in the critical minerals economy will ultimately be determined by skills. Investment does not create jobs unless the workforce is ready to meet industrial demand,” says EWSETA acting CEO Robyn Vilakazi.

“Our partnership in this initiative ensures training provision is embedded within the national skills system and that industrial investment delivers measurable impact for industry, youth, and communities.”

The CSIR-led programme 'Building a Capable Workforce for the Critical Minerals and Battery Economy in South Africa' addresses this challenge by starting with real employment demand and shaping training provision around it.

The initiative supports South Africa’s development and energy transition priorities and aligns with the EU Global Gateway’s focus on sustainable investment, skills development and decent work, EWSETA says.

By strengthening the partnership between research, industry and the national skills system, the programme strengthens the link between partnerships in investment, skills and inclusive growth.

This programme also reinforces South Africa’s ability to compete in global green value chains, while advancing an inclusive and equitable just transition.

Further, EWSETA will lead targeted initiatives to strengthen the capacity of technical and vocational education and training colleges in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga by updating related curricula, supporting lecturer development and expanding access to work-integrated learning linked to active industrial operations.

The interventions must be embedded within the national skills system, quality assured and aligned to credible occupational standards and sector priorities, it adds.

EWSETA also provides the institutional authority to align industrial investment with sustainable employment pathways and long-term workforce planning, it states.

Further, this skills development intervention forms part of the outcomes of the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership signed at the South Africa–EU Leaders’ Summit on November 20, 2025.