The State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Africa Energy Indaba, held in Cape Town this week, to advance their strategic partnership and cooperate on workforce and labour-market initiatives.

The agreement establishes a long-term framework for cooperation in skills development and knowledge exchange in the nuclear and related technology sectors.

Particular emphasis is placed on training young professionals and strengthening local and regional technical capacity across Africa.

Priority areas include joint education and training initiatives, programmes for women and young professionals, short-term employee internships, engineering skills development and professional competitions, as well as collaborative research projects, the organisations say.

Rosatom and Necsa seek to contribute to the development of a workforce that is globally competitive and future-ready in nuclear and advanced technology sectors through this cooperation.

Further, the partnership is also aimed at international labour market and training projects, as well as the joint organisation of conferences, seminars and other professional platforms for dialogue and knowledge-exchange.

“Nuclear power is about people, their knowledge, experience and responsibilities. Our strategic partnership with Necsa in the field of human capital development is based on a human-centric approach, and a commitment to the highest safety standards, innovation and continuous professional growth,” says Rosatom human resources deputy director-general Tatiana Terentyeva.

“Through our joint training initiatives, we are fostering knowledge exchange that will enable Russian and South African professionals to work together to build a technological future that meets the challenges of the twenty-first century,” she says.

As part of the agreement, Rosatom will provide an additional 15 bursaries for students and young professionals from South Africa to study at Rosatom universities during the year, she says.

The partnership is focused on building sustainable human capital to support the growth of the nuclear and related technology sectors. Developing skills, empowering young professionals, and expanding leadership capacity are central to the long-term success of the energy sector, says Necsa human capital group executive Sithembile Mbuyisa.

“Through collaboration on education, training and knowledge exchange, we aim to contribute to a globally competitive and future-ready nuclear workforce,” she says.