African economies can grow more sustainably by focusing on sustainability and addressing climate change, while also providing new opportunities for its workforce, said assurance, advisory and tax services company PwC in its 'Enabling net-zero through a green workforce in Africa' report.

A green workforce is also needed to meet African governments’ commitments to accelerate the energy sector’s decarbonisation.

However, with the creation of green job opportunities, the upskilling and training of personnel and graduates along the sector's value chains needed to be accelerated and must keep up with demand for green jobs, the report noted.

Although sustainability initiatives can be driven from a reporting, data and metrics perspective, the workforce was a key and pivotal enabler to bringing any sustainability strategy to life, PwC said.

In South Africa, 70% of companies believe the broader application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards will drive job growth, while 41% believe broader application will drive investments in the green transition.

Further, employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years, with those who do not upskill themselves at the forefront of this disruption, according to the World Economic Forum 'Future of Jobs 2023' report.

Therefore, there was a need for technical and commercial skills to enable the just energy transition and there was an urgent need to transition to a green economy to address the threat of climate change, PwC highlighted.

“Enabling the just transition requires a workforce to become agents of change through applying their understanding of the opportunities and risks that sustainability offers. Engaging in awareness and upskilling programmes will enable employees to apply their knowledge of sustainability to their everyday lives, and thus being a true embodiment of an organisation’s sustainability objectives,” said PwC Africa workforce of the future platform lead Marthle du Plessis.

It is important to upskill the workforce on creating an awareness of sustainability's importance globally, for the organisation they work for, and for them. This builds alignment between leadership ambitions, as well as management expectations, she said.

Further, sustainability response has become a global imperative that needs to be understood on a worldwide scale. Sustainability initiatives have wide-scale reach and identifying new trends and innovations requires broad awareness. These initiatives need to complement each other.

There was no single solution, and drivers and trends were constantly evolving. Therefore, a collaborative effort was needed in order to enable the just energy transition, she said.

“Rising to the challenge of upskilling the workforce to enable the just energy transition will take a personal commitment and organisational action at scale. It will take collaboration, debate, fresh insights and ambitious thinking,” Du Plessis said.

The transition to the green economy requires organisations to take a proactive and intentional approach towards developing a green workforce.

Organisations needed to proactively ensure they had the right skills at the right time. The workforce was changing and one of the most important ways that sustainability wa impacting it was n the hiring and retention of skills within an organisation, said PwC Africa ESG platform lead Lullu Krugel.

Sustainability upskilling initiatives, supported by change management, are more likely to stay on budget, on schedule and achieve lasting results.

“An increasing number of workers are entering the workforce and looking for companies that share their values. The workforce will primarily be made up of Millennials and Gen Zs by 2029. These generations are more environmentally and socially conscious and more likely to consider a company’s sustainability policies when making job decisions,” she said.

“The workforce is no longer just interested in earning a paycheque. They want to know that their work is making a difference. To get ahead of the shift, employers must begin adjusting their practices to fit these changing expectations,” she added.