BL Premium reports that as SA gradually winds down its coalfields in favour of a more eco-friendly energy mix, the majority of coal workers risk being unable to transfer their skills to non-mining sectors.
As a result, coal workers risk being stranded by the global shift to renewable energy, according to a policy brief by researchers at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). The coal sector directly employs about 150,000 people, roughly two-thirds of whom are in mining, and the remainder of whom work in transport or at the point of coal consumption. The brief noted that “the coal value chain is on a progressive, long-term phase-out over the next two to three decades.” While SA has a potentially global competitive advantage in several emerging green industries related to its vast critical mineral reserves, such as battery storage and green hydrogen, their ability to fill the employment and economic gap left by coal is threatened by the country’s failure to equip coal workers and coal-dependent municipalities for the transition. TIPS said that the transition of SA’s coal value chain, the first large-scale, co-ordinated attempt at “inclusive industrial transformation” in the environmental context, was likely to set the tone for other sectors’ transitions. Beyond mining, the shift to renewables and electric vehicles will drive structural changes in the automotive sector, with roughly 140,000 petrol attendant jobs at risk of being lost in the coming years. Another 250,000 mechanics in the country, a third of whom are informally trained or self-employed, will require retraining or upskilling to service electric vehicles, according to TIPS.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jacob Webster at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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